Economy on minds of Obama audience
With all of the bad economic news in Lee County – No. 1 one in foreclosures, over 10 percent unemployment, Lehigh Acres resident Antoinette Johnson would like to hear a ray of hope from President Barack Obama during his speech today at the Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers.
“I want to hear that the government can come together to pass the stimulus,” Johnson said.
Obama’s speech today is the second in two days as he tours areas hit hard by the crumbling economy to push support for the economic stimulus legislation. The stimulus bill, which would inject $800 billion into the economy and was already passed in the House earlier this month, is currently being debated in the Senate.
Beyond the current stimulus package, Johnson wants to hear about job creation and the affordability of education in Obama’s speech.
“His daughters are the same age as my sons,” said Johnson, who has two sons in high school and one son in college.
“I want to make sure that when they graduate college they have jobs available and are not being shipped overseas,” she added.
An erroneous report that Obama would tour Lehigh Acres to assess the damage from the housing and economic crises had Johnson doubly excited, but the President’s schedule does not include a stop in Lehigh.
“It is disappointing,” Johnson said.