EVERETT — Two unemployed men. Two different views of the first 100 days of the presidency of Barack Obama.
“I think he’s going to get things going,” said Marty Wagoner, 50, of Startup, who was laid off in September from his job driving a dump truck. “He seems to really want to do something.”
Tom Wise of Mukilteo lost his job at a paint company Dec. 3. He’s receiving $219 a week in unemployment insurance.
“I’m just wondering if there’s going to be any stimulus checks for me,” said Wise, 54. “I know the banks have gotten a lot of stimulus checks. I know the insurance companies have gotten a lot of stimulus checks.”
Today is Obama’s 100th day in office. Regardless of the opinions about his policies, Obama has started fast out of the gate to address problems he inherited, including an economic crisis, two wars and controversy over government bailouts.
Obama enjoyed a 68 percent approval rating nationwide Tuesday in a New York Times-CBS News poll. Still, opinions on him vary widely.
“Obama is charming. So are the devil and the con man,” said Patricia Mattison, 69, of Lynnwood, who identifies herself as a lifelong Republican.
“Love him. He’s my Kennedy,” said Chris Dean, 47, of Monroe as she boarded a Community Transit bus in Everett.
Others say he should get the benefit of the doubt.
“We’ve got to wait and see what’s going to happen,” said Mike Duronslet, 52, of Mill Creek, while doing yard work for a fellow church member in Everett. “We’ve got to give him some time, he came in at a bad time.”
A key issue for the new Obama administration so far, even more than usual, is money: what it could do for the sagging economy, and what could happen if government spends too much of it.
Washington state is set to receive $3.3 billion of the $787 economic stimulus package approved in February. According to the latest figures from the state, Snohomish County is in line to receive at least $77.6 million. That’s more than $30 million each for transportation and education spending, plus more for energy projects, health and human services, and public safety.
“Certainly this is going to mean jobs are being retained,” said Bill Beuscher, who manages the home weatherization program for Snohomish County.
The weatherization program is expected to receive $2.9 million in stimulus money, with another $4.8 million coming in the form of energy efficiency block grants. That money could cover home energy audits, retrofits and more.
Beuscher estimates every $1 million invested in weatherization equals 60 to 70 jobs.
There are 13 road projects using stimulus money planned around the county. Money also is anticipated for more buses and runway rehab at the county’s airport, Paine Field.
Federal money from the stimulus package will be given to local school districts, but there are strings attached. Much of it must be earmarked for special education programs and for schools which have high percentages of students from low-income families.
“I do think it will help,” said Gail Miller, assistant superintendent of the Marysville School District.
Marysville schools will receive more than $1 million over each of the next two years for special education and $320,000 to help students in schools in low-income neighborhoods.
“They are meant to be a short-term, one-time, two-year funding source,” Miller said. “The guidance we are getting is to not use that money for extra staffing.”
Stimulus money also is being used to restore part of the funding the Legislature cut from a voter-approved measure aimed at reducing class size. In most districts, that money has been used to hire teachers. Schools still will need to lay off teachers hired under the measure, but the stimulus money will lessen the blow.
People in real estate and construction say the Obama administration’s $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers already is making a difference in the market.
“I am seeing first-time homebuyers coming to the table,” said Karen Schweinfurth, a Mill Creek Remax agent. “It’s a huge benefit.”
“The past month we’ve seen increased pending home sales. That means the ball is rolling,” said Cameron Fay, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County-Camano Association of Realtors.
Still, the economy is far from out of the woods, said Jocelyn McCabe, a spokeswoman for the Association of Washington Business, a statewide chamber of commerce representing 6,500 businesses.
The state unemployment rate jumped from 8.3 percent in February to 9.2 percent in March, she said.
“Our members are still very concerned, they are doing everything they can to be innovative and creative. There’s still a lot of anxiety out there, I think.”
The stimulus package and Obama’s $3.6 trillion 2010 budget plan have drawn a huge reaction from people concerned about spending and budget deficits.
“We remain concerned that this agenda will take America in a direction placing, all of us in greater dependence on the federal government,” said Ty Balascio of Monroe. He spoke at the “tea party” demonstration against taxes, spending and bailouts in Everett on April 15.
“Such a direction would threaten our individual rights, financial solvency, and national sovereignty,” he said.
On foreign policy, Obama is making a difference in perception overseas and at home, some believe.
“I like what he’s doing with the international community as far as reaching out,” said Lee Eichelberger, 40, of Lake Stevens.
This approach, criticized by some, is paying dividends overseas, said Darryl Dieter, a part-time instructor of political science at Everett Community College.
At the recent European summit, “leaders seemed nearly to compete for his attention,” Dieter said. “Despite the fact that several European leaders maintained that economic stimulus was unnecessary, preferring instead regulation of the financial industry and a good social welfare net, Obama was able to get an agreement from them for at least a small stimulus package.”
Mark Horn, 55, an Edmonds real estate investor, disagrees.
“These leanings toward a world government, a world monetary policy and cozying up to our enemies … I really don’t feel safe with this guy as commander in chief,” he said.
Overall, Obama has restored some confidence that the country can face its problems at home and abroad, said Brian Casserly, a history instructor at EvCC.
Obama’s stimulus package is reminiscent of the initiatives in the first 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the height of the Great Depression in 1933 — only on a smaller scale, Casserly said.
If Obama can fulfill his promise to create a new federal health care system, it could be seen as akin to FDR’s creation of Social Security, he said.
Still, “it’s quite possible that 30 years from now we’ll have a completely different interpretation of what’s happening,” he said.
Herald reporters Eric Stevick, Noah Haglund and Herald intern Hany Barghout contributed to this story.
Obama speaks
Marking his 100 days in office, President Barack Obama will hold a televised news conference at 5 p.m. PDT today at the White House. ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as some cable news shows, will air it live.
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