Stimulating Discussion At Economic Forum
PHOTO/SHAUN TOLSON
Panelists debate the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act this morning at an economic forum in Framingham.
The timing and implementation of federal stimulus funding sparked debate at a regional economic panel discussion held this morning.
The discussion was part of the annual 495/MetroWest Partnership Economic Forum at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel.
"Stimulus dollars are a real thing, but I don't think they've gone as far as we'd all like," said Paul Leone, senior vice president at Boston-based commercial real estate firm Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC, who was one member of a three-person panel to address the audience. The two other panel members were Robert Martin, vice president of academic affairs at Framingham State College, and Jeffrey Fuhrer, executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
"I'm not sure all the ARRA (American Reinvestment and Recovery Act) money has been invested in ways that can drive the economy," Martin said.
However, Fuhrer said that the stimulus money carried the economy through a dire period.
"We were scared that we might be slipping into another Great Depression," Fuhrer said. "People can quibble, but in a crisis like this that is felt around the globe, you want to act vigorously."
Fuhrer added that during the 1920s and early 1930s, the government's response was not as well-informed or as timely, which led to the Great Depression and an unemployment rate around 25 percent. While not all of the federal government's responses to today's recession have been well-received, Fuhrer argued that it still is better to act swiftly than to hesitate.
State Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, who was in the audience, said that the state used its share of stimulus money wisely to counteract impending budget cuts that would have led to thousands of public school employees, police officers and fire fighters losing their jobs.
"It's not necessary jobs created, it's jobs saved," Linsky said. "That's the success story."
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