The bailout of Wall Street got a lot of press this year, as taxpayers fumed about helping the rich while much of Main Street remained mired in the sharpest economic downturn since the Great Depression. The rescue of the financial industry may have been necessary, but it sure wasn't pretty.

Now that some of the money has been returned to the government - and the investment bankers are again awarding themselves huge bonuses - it's time to look at another part of President Obama's economic recovery package: the federal stimulus program.

The stimulus - an almost $800 billion package - hasn't gotten a lot of media attention, probably because it's spread out far and wide around the country. Nevertheless, the consensus among economists is that it's been a success. We in TWU agree, as we've already seen some benefits for our members, as recent articles in the Express have pointed out (see page 10 on Local 208).

While the Wall Street bailout didn't create jobs (the financial services industry actually laid off a lot of workers), stimulus projects have created many jobs, while saving even more. Stimulus projects have other benefits, such as rebuilding our fraying infrastructure and moving the U.S. towards energy independence.

One economist, Mark Zandi of Moody'sEconomy. com, says without the stimulus unemployment would be over 11% and we'd have 1.1 million fewer jobs. If anything, the experts believe the stimulus should have been bigger and that we need a second dose in the New Year. I couldn't agree more, but it must be done right. Here are some suggestions and some of the areas we are focusing on:

• Extend the lifeline for jobless workers. Unless Congress acts now, supplemental unemployment benefits, additional food assistance and expansion of COBRA health care benefits will expire at the end of 2009. They must be extended for another 12 months to prevent working families from confronting bankruptcy, home foreclosure and loss of health care. Extending benefits also will boost personal spending and create jobs throughout the economy.
• Return highly technical Aircraft Maintenance and related jobs back to U.S. maintenance bases.
• Rebuild America's infrastructure, including our transportation systems. We also need to allow transit agencies to use funds for operating assistance, so service isn't cut back at a time when more people are switching to mass transit.
• Increase aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services. State and local governments and school districts have a $178 billion budget shortfall this year alone - while the recession creates greater need for their services. States and communities must get help to maintain critical frontline services, prevent massive job cuts and avoid deep damage to education just when our children need it most.
• Put TARP funds to work for Main Street. The bank bailout helped Wall Street, not Main Street. We should put some of the billions of dollars in leftover Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to work creating jobs.

As we enter the New Year, the economic picture looks a little brighter. We saved Wall Street. Now, let's create some more jobs on Main Street.