Democratic Leaders Prepare for More of the Same Failed Policies

As you are aware, this past February, the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate pushed through the White House’s trillion-dollar stimulus bill.

 

According to the White House, the stimulus bill, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was “an effort to create jobs, jumpstart growth and transform our economy to compete in the 21st century.”

 

The White House claimed the stimulus would create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years. 

 

National Economic Council president Larry Summers said in February that the stimulus would create jobs “almost immediately.”  About that same time, Christina Romer, chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, said on MSNBC, “I’ve run the numbers” after claiming that the stimulus would create between three and four million jobs. 

 

Instead, our economy has lost roughly three million private sector jobs since the trillion-dollar stimulus was signed into law. 

 

The nation’s economy lost 263,000 jobs in the month of September, and the unemployment rate rose from 9.7 percent to 9.8 percent, the highest unemployment rate since 1983.

 

The White House now admits that they “missed the mark” with their estimated promise that the stimulus package would keep unemployment from rising above eight percent. 

 

According to a survey conducted by Bloomberg News, economists say joblessness will reach 10 percent by the end of the year.

 

Here at home, the White House projected that 52,000 jobs in Alabama would be created by the 2009 stimulus law; however, to date, over 32,000 Alabama jobs have been lost.

 

In fact, the entire country, with the exception of Washington, D.C., is now almost 6 million jobs short of the White House’s projections.

 

Friends, the evidence that the stimulus is not working continues to mount.  Last week, the White House released data on the number of jobs the stimulus has created.

 

To date, 30,383 jobs have been created by companies which have received $2.2 billion worth of stimulus contracts directly from the federal government.

 

Based on the funds that have been distributed thus far, that equates to an incredible $71,500 per job created.

 

Faced with this harsh reality, it seems Democrats in Washington are only preparing for more of the same.  Democratic leaders have signaled they will push for even more stimulus spending this fall. 

 

According to recent Associated Press article, “Confronted with big job losses and no sign the U.S. economy is ready to stand on its own, Democrats are working on a growing list of relief efforts, leaving for later how to pay for them, or whether even to bother. … Taken together, the proposals look a lot like another economic stimulus package, though congressional leaders don't want to call it that.”

 

With Democrats preparing to push through even more tax-and-spend policies, it is important to keep the following numbers in mind:

 

• 9.8 percent: The nation’s unemployment rate, the highest since 1983, according to the Department of Labor.

• 2.99 million:  Private sector jobs lost since the trillion-dollar stimulus became law.

• 26.6 million: Workers either unemployed or underemployed (meaning those who are unable to find adequate work,) representing more than one-sixth of all U.S. workers.

• $1.4 trillion: Budget deficit for fiscal year 2009, the largest it has been since 1945, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

• $9 trillion: Projected budget deficits over the next ten years under the Obama Administration’s budget, more than the sum of all previous deficits in our nation’s history.

• $11.93 trillion: The public’s share of our national debt, projected to rise to $17.5 trillion by the end of next decade under the Obama Administration’s budget.

• 17 percent: The rate at which home foreclosures increased in the second quarter, according to the Office of Thrift Supervision. Every 13 seconds, there is another foreclosure filing in America.

 

It is clear; the amount of money this Congress is spending has not helped our economy and is instead raising our taxes, increasing the size of the federal government, and borrowing from our children and grandchildren.

 

Better, more responsible alternatives have been put forward time and again, yet sadly, they continue to be ignored.

 

True economic recovery starts with fiscal discipline in Washington and tax relief for working families and small businesses.

 

I will continue working with House Republicans to oppose the Democrats’ job-killing tax-and-spend policies and support real solutions to get the American people back to work.

 

My staff and I work for you.  If we can ever be of service, do not hesitate to call my office toll free at 1-800-288-8721.

For release the week of Monday, October 19, 2009. For more information please contact Nancy W. Wall at (202)225-4931.