For Immediate Release: Contact: Press Office
March 5, 2010 (202) 479-7070
New Jersey 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, John Adler'smisplaced 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 John Adler has brushed aside struggling New Jersey families in favor of a partisan agenda.
Instead of solving the problem of high unemployment, economists are saying Adler'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 New Jersey families remain at the bottom of John Adler's priorities,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Over a year has passed since Adler and his Democrat colleagues passed their failed stimulus bill, but New Jersey families are still buried under mountains of debt and 9.7 percent unemployment. Thanks to John Adler's misplaced priorities and repeated rubber stamping of the Democrats’ big-government, big-spending agenda, New Jersey families are still left asking: Where are the jobs?”
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