Families Still Asking: Where Are the Jobs?
April 16, 2010
FYI, a version of the release below went out to the following districts: John Adler (NJ-03); Jason Altmire (PA-04); Michael Arcuri (NY-24); John Barrow (GA-12); Melissa Bean (IL-08); Sanford Bishop (GA-02); Tim Bishop (NY-01); John Boccieri (OH-16); Allen Boyd (FL-02); Rick Boucher (VA-09); Dennis Cardoza (CA-18); Russ Carnahan (MO-03); Chris Carney (PA-10); Ben Chandler (KY-06); Travis Childers (MS-01); Gerry Connolly (VA-11); Jim Costa (CA-20); Joe Courtney (CT-02); Henry Cuellar (TX-28); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03); Lincoln Davis (TN-04); Joe Donnelly (IN-02); Steve Driehaus (OH-01); Chet Edwards (TX-17); Bill Foster (IL-14); Gabby Giffords (AZ-08); Alan Grayson (FL-08); John Hall (NY-19); Debbie Halvorson (IL-11); Martin Heinrich (NM-01); Brian Higgins (NY-27); Baron Hill (IN-09); Jim Himes (CT-04); Maurice Hinchey (NY-22); Tim Holden (PA-17); Rush Holt (NJ-12); Steve Israel (NY-02); Steve Kagen (WI-08); Paul Kanjorski (PA-11); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Ron Kind (WI-03); Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01); Larry Kissell (NC-08); Ron Klein (FL-22); Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24); Frank Kratovil (MD-01); Rick Larsen (WA-02); Dave Loebsack (IA-02); Dan Maffei (NY-25); Betsy Markey (CO-04); Jim Marshall (GA-08); Jim Matheson (UT-02); Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04); Michael McMahon (NY-13); Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Michael Michaud (ME-02); Walt Minnick (ID-01); Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Alan Mollohan (WV-01); Chris Murphy (CT-05); Patrick Murphy (PA-08); Scott Murphy (NY-20); Glenn Nye (VA-02); David Obey (WI-07); Bill Owens (NY-23); Ed Perlmutter (CO-07); Tom Perriello (VA-05); Gary Peters (MI-09); Nick Rahall (WV-03); Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23); Mike Ross (AR-04); John Salazar (CO-03); Loretta Sanchez (CA-47); Mark Schauer (MI-07); Kurt Schrader (OR-05); Ike Skelton (MO-04); Zack Space (OH-18); John Spratt (SC-05); Betty Sutton (OH-13); Harry Teague (NM-02); Dina Titus (NV-03); Niki Tsongas (MA-05); Tim Walz (MN-01); Charlie Wilson (OH-06); David Wu (OR-01) and John Yarmuth (KY-03).
Michigan Families Still Asking: Where Are the Jobs?
Mark Schauer’s Big Government, Big-Spending Policies Fail to Bring Economic Recovery to Michigan
Washington- A day after Tax Day, when families across the country are forced to send a big chunk of their hard-earned dollars to Washington, Michigan families find themselves wondering when the economy will finally turn around. In the past year, Americans have been forced to pay excessive taxes, suffer under unprecedented government control, and have witnessed a budget-busting agenda that has led to one of the largest deficits in history. Rather than focusing on jobs and the economy, Democrats rammed their trillion-dollar healthcare takeover through Congress. And despite the billions of quick-fix ‘stimulus’ dollars Mark Schauer and his Democrat colleagues have pumped into the public sector to provide temporary jobs, Michigan families are still suffering. With unemployment still at 14.1 percent, Michigan taxpayers are still asking: Where are the jobs?
“The number of newly laid off people signing up for unemployment benefits rose sharply for the second straight week, suggesting that jobs are still hard to come by even as the economic recovery gains traction. The Labor Department reported Thursday that first-time requests for jobless benefits rose by 24,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 484,000, the highest level since late February. Economists were predicting claims would fall. It marked the second week that claims took an unexpected leap. In the prior week, claims rose by 18,000 to 460,000.” (“Jobless Claims Jump, Industrial Production Inches Up,” Reuters, 4/15/2010)
Rather than investing money into small businesses – the engine of the economy – the Democrats have spent taxpayer dollars towards expanding the federal government.
“The National Federation of Independent Business index of optimism among small businesses fell 1.2 points in March to 86.8. “The March reading is very low and headed in the wrong direction,” said Bill Dunkelberg, the group’s chief economist. “Something isn’t sitting well with small-business owners.” (Sudeep Reddy, “Trade Gap Grows, Driven by Imports,” Wall Street Journal, 4/14/2010)
After racking up one of the largest deficits in history, the Democrats continue to spend money they don’t have:
“Personal income with government “transfers” – which include such federal money as Social Security, unemployment insurance, Medicare and food stamps – has grown during Mr. Obama’s time in office, up 1.2 percent…During that period, government unemployment insurance benefits rose from $88 billion to $143 billion. Despite a near doubling in unemployment payouts, Mr. Obama in February announced a multitrillion-dollar spending plan that boosted the federal deficit to a record-breaking $1.56 trillion.” (Joseph Curl, “Income falls 3.2% during Obama’s term,” Washington Times, 4/13/2010)
“Michigan families are suffering under the Democrats’ economic policies, but Mark Schauer and his party bosses continue to ignore them in favor of partisan, job-killing spending sprees,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Instead of addressing the ailing economy and high unemployment, Schauer remains focused on pushing his big-government, big-spending policies – even at the expense of taxpayers. After a year of wasting Michigan families’ hard-earned money on frivolous government spending, will it take losing in November for Schauer to finally realize his economic policies are a failure?”
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