Americans have been worried about the economy as far as joblessness is concerned, still not understanding that unemployment rates are not a leading indicator of the condition of the country financially. President Obama assured America again yesterday, that his recovery plan was on track, even though the time following the signing of the stimulus bill saw recession high unemployment rates and another large drop in the market.

The President admitted he is also not satisfied with the progress we’re seeing so far, indicating that his administration will be fast tracking the plans detailed in the stimulus plan, hoping to give another glimmer of hope to Americans who are exasperated, at the very least, with the state of the economy. The Obama administration also admitted that they have so far only spent $44 billion, or 5 percent, of the $787 billion stimulus package, the largest economic stimulus in American history, and arguably one of the largest financial bills in American history.

Obama claims that, “we’re in a position to really accelerate.” He reiterated his promise to create or save 600,000 jobs by the end of the summer, a claim that will never be verifiable. This is just a “repackaging” of old promises and a rejuvenation of old projects, but hopefully the renewed sense of urgency will be enough to make President Obama’s plans and projects effective.

1.6 billion Americans have lost their jobs since the economic stimulus plan was signed in February, making the White House estimations they have still saved 150,000 jobs rather bleak in comparison. The Obama administration has admitted for the first time that they were too overly optimistic in the forecasting they used to sell the stimulus package to Congress. Jared Bernstein, Vice President Biden’s economic adviser, commented, “At the time, our forecast seemed reasonable. Now, looking back, it was clearly too optimistic. Experts believe the administration is still being unrealistic and that any job creation will be the product of luck alone and not at the large scale he predicts.

Opponents of the stimulus plan have argued since the President’s inauguration that the stimulus package cannot work at all, regardless of forecasting, due to ‘pork barrel’ projects that have been included in the bill and the fact that the federal budget does not include the money it takes to fund the endeavor. Obama is now attempting to renew the country’s confidence in the measures he has taken. He commented, “We’ve done more than ever, faster than ever, more responsibly than ever, to get the gears of the economy moving again…. I’m not satisfied. We’ve got more work to do.” Americans apparently agree, and think he has not done enough. Obama’s disapproval rating concerning the economy rose from 30% to 42%, nearly overnight.

The newly passed stimulus bill includes a lot of provisions for everyday Americans. One of the most beneficial is the health insurance section which gives many people who have been laid off the option to keep their health insurance at a more reasonable price than is currently offered with COBRA:

Many workers who lose their health insurance when they lose their jobs will find it cheaper to keep that coverage while they look for work.

Right now, most people working for medium and large employers can continue their coverage for 18 months under the COBRA program when they lose their job. It’s expensive, often over $1,000 a month, because they pay the share of premiums once covered by their employer as well as their own share from the old group plan.

Under the stimulus package, the government will pick up 65 percent of the total cost of that premium for the first nine months.

Lawmakers initially proposed to help workers from small companies, too, who don’t generally qualify for COBRA coverage. But that fell through. The idea was to have Washington pay to extend Medicaid to them.

COBRA applies to group plans at companies employing at least 20 people. The subsidies will be offered to those who lost their jobs from Sept. 1 to the end of this year.

Those who were put out of work after September but didn’t elect to have COBRA coverage at the time will have 60 days to sign up.

The plan offers $87 billion to help states administer Medicaid. That could slow or reverse some of the steps states have taken to cut the program.

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