Lowe, Democrats will help families

Peter Roskam's current mailing asks his constituents to do some serious budgeting. He advises that in these difficult economic times families need to tighten their belts. That's good advice. Roskam adds that the government needs to tighten its belt too and wants to get back to Washington with fellow Republicans in power so they can collectively tighten the belt.

That's good advice if a family is doing reasonably well. But if the family has dropped from two incomes to one income or if there is only one inadequate income or, maybe no income at all, more drastic measures are needed. Often the family cannot provide even the most basic necessities. Here's where government agencies or nonprofit agencies need to step in as a safety net.

The Democratic plan to stimulate the economy is needed to put more people to work and give more families a decent income. That's the plan of the past two years, and there's evidence it is working. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan organization, released information recently that the stimulus plan provided $200 billion in economic activity and provided between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs.

The recovery act is working. We need Ben Lowe in Congress to add his voice to the efforts to provide jobs.

Marge Frens

Elk Grove