Families Struggle Through Painfully High Unemployment

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); Leonard Boswell (IA-03); Allen Boyd (FL-02); Rick Boucher (VA-09); Dennis Cardoza (CA-18); Chris Carney (PA-10); Ben Chandler (KY-06); Travis Childers (MS-01); Gerry Connolly (VA-11); Jim Costa (CA-20); Joe Courtney (CT-02); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03); Lincoln Davis (TN-04); Bill Delahunt (MA-10); Joe Donnelly (IN-02); Steve Driehaus (OH-01); Chet Edwards (TX-17); Brad Ellsworth (IN-08); Bill Foster (IL-14); Gabby Giffords (AZ-08); Alan Grayson (FL-08); John Hall (NY-19); Debbie Halvorson (IL-11); Martin Heinrich (NM-01); Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD-AL); 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); Dan Maffei (NY-25); Betsy Markey (CO-04); Jim Marshall (GA-08); Eric Massa (NY-29); Jim Matheson (UT-02); Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04); Michael McMahon (NY-13); Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Michael Michaud (ME-02); Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Alan Mollohan (WV-01); Patrick Murphy (PA-08); David Obey (WI-07); Ed Perlmutter (CO-07); Tom Perriello (VA-05); Earl Pomeroy (ND-AL); 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); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01); 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 Struggle Through Painfully High Unemployment
Democrats’ Partisan Spending and Misplaced Priorities Have Done Little to Turn the Economic Tide

Washington- As unemployment lingers at 9.7 percent and Americans look for help amid a struggling economy, Mark Schauer’s (D-MI) misplaced priorities and consistent support of wasteful government spending has produced nothing but ugly results. Over a year has passed since the Democrats’ signed their failed ‘stimulus’ boondoggle and the aftermath is clear: Unemployment is still painfully high while the country faces crippling debt and massive deficits. While sky-rocketing unemployment takes a backseat to the Democrats’ reckless push for wasteful spending bills and a reckless healthcare bill – it’s clear that Mark Schauer has brushed aside struggling Michigan families in favor of a partisan agenda.  

Instead of solving the problem of high unemployment, economists are saying Schauer’s party has been pushing it higher:

“In 2010, as in 2009, the ARRA is mainly a stimulus to government. Shovel-ready or not, highway programs will get only $10 billion of the borrowed booty, about 2%. ‘Nearly half of the outlays resulting from ARRA in 2010,’ says the CBO, ‘will be for programs administered by Health and Human Services or the Department of Education.’”

 “It turns out that raising the unemployment rate by a percentage point or two is the only clearly identifiable effect the stimulus act had on the jobs market. It stimulated unemployment.” (Alan Reynolds, “The ‘Stimulus’ Actually Raised Unemployment,” Investor’s Business Daily, Editorial, 2/19/2010)

As Democrats let the economy sputter and uncertainty surrounds the partisan agenda coming out of Washington, employers are still reluctant to hire and jobless claims for the month of February are once again higher than economists expected:

“Jobless claims have risen in six of the first eight weeks of this year, according to data from the Labor Department.”

“In any event, there has been little sign that companies are starting to hire. Many businesses are showing reluctance to make add workers because of weak demand for their products and uncertainty about major legislation pending in Washington, among other factors.”

“Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected initial claims would drop to 460,000 in the week ended Feb. 20. Initial claims in the week ended Feb. 13 was revised up by 1,000 to 474,000.”

“‘While net firings appear to have stopped, net hiring has yet to resume and the pool of unemployed workers receiving continuing benefits remains close to historical highs,’ said economist Anna Piretti of BNP Paribas in an email.” (Jeffry Bartash, “Weekly jobless claims jump 22,000 to 496,000,” Wall Street Journal, Market Watch, 2/25/2010)

“As Democrats continue to support wasteful government spending and push a reckless healthcare agenda, it is clear that Michigan families remain at the bottom of Mark Schauer’s priorities,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Over a year has passed since Schauer and his Democrat colleagues passed their failed stimulus bill, but Michigan families are still buried under mountains of debt and 9.7 percent unemployment. Thanks to Mark Schauer’s misplaced priorities and repeated rubber stamping of the Democrats’ big-government, big-spending agenda, Michigan families are still left asking: Where are the jobs?”

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