Family to GA Gov: Please Accept Stimulus Money for Unemployed

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is calling state agency heads to a meeting with him at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday to discuss what to do with the federal stimulus cash earmarked for Georgia.

He may turn some of it down.

Tuesday afternoon, members of a family from Kennesaw went to the Governor's office at the State Capitol in downtown Atlanta to plead with him -- don't.

"I decided to ask if I could speak to somebody, anybody, on his staff," said Erica Greer.

Erica Greer and her mother, Candace Foss, hand-delivered a letter that Erica wrote to the Governor, asking him not to do what he's been saying that he might -- asking him not to turn down any of the federal stimulus money that's targeted for expanding Georgia's limited unemployment benefits.

Candace just lost her job at Home Depot.

She's just about to turn 60.

"It's only been three or four weeks that I've been unemployed," Candace said, "but it's like there's a big, black hole out there," impossible for her, so far, to find anyone who's hiring.

They got in to see an aid to the governor, and came home hoping the governor will get the message -- on behalf of the nearly 400,000 Georgians classified as unemployed now.

"I want to be heard," Erica said, "I want him to understand -- these are human beings. These are people. These are the faces of the people that your decisions affect.... We wanted to put a face to the issue so that in a meeting somewhere, some gentleman might say, you know, 'I remember seeing a lady and her daughter who came in,'" and that might help in the governor's decision.

"The extension of benefits, and possibly getting maybe a little bit higher benefit, is a resource that I need," Candace said, "and I know that I'm not the only one in that position."

"It affects everybody in Georgia who has lost their job," Erica said.

The Governor's spokesman, Bert Brantley, told 11Alive News again Tuesday that the reason the governor may turn down some of the federal stimulus money for the unemployed is that the money comes with strings attached that might end up costing state taxpayers more than the benefits are worth.

"And If it costs us more to take the money than it does, [than the] help that it brings the state, then we're going to take a very hard look at that," Brantley said.

It's a potential cost that Erica and Candace believe is necessary to help the unemployed now who might not get any benefits otherwise.

"It's harder to find a job now," Erica said, "it takes longer to find a job, and the unemployment benefits [with a maximum term of 26 weeks] just aren't enough."

"I'm willing to pay a little extra down the road when I have a job to pay for it," Candace said. "But right now I need to get to that place."

Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond is also asking the governor to accept the money. Otherwise, Thurmond said, the state may run out of unemployment benefits entirely, perhaps some time in 2010.

As it is, the Governor did accept the part of the stimulus money that will allow the state to raise the weekly unemployment benefit by $25.

Governor Purdue has not said when he will announce his decision on whether to accept the rest of the unemployment funds from the stimulus package.

______________________________

Erica Greer's open letter to the Governor:

Dear Governor Perdue:

I've recently learned that you are considering rejecting federal aid to extend unemployment benefits. I am incredibly distressed by this news and want to urge you to accept this aid.

I beg you to consider that the state unemployment rate has nearly doubled in the last year, up from 4.5% in December of 07 to 8.1% in December of 08. Georgia's unemployment rate is a full percentage point above the national average. This doesn't even taken into account January's statistics, which are staggering. On a single day last month over 65,000 America's lost their jobs - a single day's total never before seen in the history of our great nation.

I understand the need for due diligence, but there is more to consider than simple numbers on a page. Please also consider the millions of Georgians [the unemployed and their family members] that your rejection of this aid will harm.  Georgians also doing their own due diligence in trying to find new employment, but failing due to the almost impossible odds in the current job market. Georgians like my own mother - a 59 year old single woman recently laid off from Home Depot's Atlanta headquarters. She sends out new resumes every single day. Resumes that disappear into a black hole, never even acknowledged by overwhelmed prospective employers.

My mother has worked very hard all her life and now finds herself nothing more than another statistic in an economy and job market that simply has no place for her. She needs you. All those like her need you. They're doing their part, but now you must do yours. Please consider carefully the lives of the many Georgians like my mother that your decision will affect before rejecting the federal aid they very desperately need. Can you offer any other relief in its place?

Respectfully,

Erica Greer