There hasn't been much positive news coming from the American government in quite some time. Per usual, America is involved in yet another war, spending trillions of dollars a year, and Congress spends its days either voting itself new pay raises or fighting about stuff that never seems to benefit the American people. However, earlier this week, it was announced that the Department of Labor is giving out $33 million in grant opportunities for young adults to achieve success in the workforce. Seeing as it was the American government that intentionally shut down 80% of America's businesses (over 90% of small businesses), it stands to reason that they would offer some help to people trying to make it in the business world. So, for once, this is something from the government that appears to be good news for Americans.

According to the information that's currently available, these grant funds will be given out through 13 separate programs in 11 different states, via the Employment and Training Administration, which is part of the Department of Labor. Why is the money being given out through so many different programs? The government's reasoning is that this money needs to be spread out properly to help as many young adults as possible achieve success in the business world.

The name of this initiative is the Growth Opportunities grant program. As of right now, there is very little information on how to apply. Meaning that the exact criteria for acceptance isn't yet known. It's a brand new initiative and the funds are just earmarked to date, and no money has actually been handed out. However, to learn how to apply for one of these grants, people are directed to go through the Grants.gov main website and visit the Growth Opportunities grants.

The grant initiative was originally announced back on March 7, 2022, but the actual funding for this round of grants just came through on Jan 9 of this year. In total, this program has been running under other names for quite some time, and it has an estimated funding pool of over $85 million. The award ceiling is supposedly $4 million, but there isn't any available information on who has received grants previously from this pool. This particular Growth Opportunities leg of the grants is brand new.
 

What They Never Tell You

Looking deeper into the Growth Opportunities grant program, it would appear as if this is yet another "social justice" program from the federal government, which they refer to as "restorative justice" under the Biden administration. What does this mean? Critics claim that it means no one will actually ever receive this money; it's just a way for the government to pretend they're trying to do something, but the money will disappear without a trace and no one will ever mention a word about it. According to government officials, however, this means that racial minorities from poverty and crime-stricken areas will get a monetary advantage to help them in the business world.

One thing that seems rather odd about this grant program is that it doesn't seem to be open to individuals. In other words, if you had a business idea and wanted to get an economic boost, you would not be eligible for one of these grants. According to the language of the grant program, these grants are going to be given out to community-based organizations that will then theoretically give the money out to individuals. Unfortunately, there have been quite a few initiatives like these, and the money really does always end up missing and unaccounted for, and the mainstream news media just ignores the story and nothing ever comes of it. The government is able to grab a week's worth of good headlines, a few people in charge get new cars and a larger bank balance, and no trace of the money is ever seen again.

It really is unfortunate that these are the things the government never tells you about these grants. You have to dig and dig, through various websites, and you have to look at the fine print of the application process. Only then do you realize that these are not economic grants at all. Instead, they're booster programs for government-approved political organizations. People can draw their own conclusions from that information.

Hopefully this grant initiative will be different and actually help people economically. Though judging by the language of the initiative, this appears to be yet another go-nowhere program.