Young says jobs number one issue for Hoosiers

Todd Young focused his latest slam of Baron Hill on the incumbent Democrat’s support of the federal stimulus package — a vote Young said has not led to job creation and instead added to the country’s spending deficit.

Young, the Republican challenger for Indiana’s 9th District U.S. House seat, released a statement Thursday criticizing the $862 billion stimulus measure passed last year.

“They promised this unfunded spending spree would keep unemployment below 8 percent and create millions of new jobs,” Young said.

“Since then, the U.S. economy has lost 2.35 million jobs.”

In a telephone interview from his New Albany campaign office at 3122 Blackiston Mill Road, Young said Hill needed to explain his vote with the jobless rate in Indiana still hovering around 10 percent.

“I predict this is the last thing [Hill] is going to want to talk about, but it’s the big issue that voters care about,” Young said.

He accused Hill of supporting an agenda of “more taxes, more spending and more government” that is “discouraging the private investment and entrepreneurship so vital to real job creation.”

Daniel Altman, communications director for the Hill campaign, responded to Young’s remarks by saying cities and towns across the 9th District including Georgetown, Seymour, Jeffersonville and Marengo are benefiting from the stimulus.

The new wastewater treatment facility being constructed for Georgetown was spurred by stimulus dollars.

“Todd Young needs to check his facts,” Altman wrote in an e-mail.

“Recovering from the Bush recession has taken time and people are still hurting, but private employment has gone up during each of the last six months.”

The June jobs report is due out soon, and the May edition showed that Indiana added 6,300 private sector jobs over the month. It marked the fifth consecutive month for job growth in the sector.

According to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the state’s private sector employment has risen 2.1 percent since December. That equates to about 47,900 jobs.

Indiana’s unemployment mark remained at 10 percent in May. It was 10.6 percent in May of 2009.
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