Browse the latest Headlines from trusted According to Politico, John Boehner thinks Republicans have a good chance of retaining the House in the November elections. In a statement today, he said (emphasis mine):
“I’m feeling better, I feel good about where we are as a team. We’ve got a lot of work to do between now and November, but I’m feeling good.”
Boehner said House Republicans can head back to their districts for the August recess with their heads held high.
“Our members have made a real difference in changing the direction of the country … in creating jobs and fixing our economy.”
What planet is this guy on? When June’s job numbers were disappointing, Republicans blamed the President; now they want to take the credit for the economic rebounds we’re seeing.
What exactly is it he’s claiming they did for job creation? They’ve put forth plenty of bills they call jobs bills; the problem is they do nothing to actually create jobs.
The Washington Times explains how “Some of the so-called “jobs” bills [are] a bit of a stretch.”
Two examples:
- The National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act… would require the Interior and Agriculture departments “to more efficiently develop domestic sources of the minerals and mineral materials of strategic and critical importance to United States economic and national security and manufacturing competitiveness.”
- The Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act …would exempt “farm dust” from falling under Clean Air Act regulations, a move that the bill’s backers say would protect American farm jobs.
The following are excerpts from the Huffington Post article “Republican Jobs Bill Won’t Actually Create Jobs, Say Economists“:
“In interviews… with five economists, most said the GOP jobs package would have no meaningful impact on job creation in the near term. Some said it was not likely to do much in the long term, either.”
“A lot of these things are laughable in terms of a jobs plan that would produce noticeable improvements across the country in the availability of employment in the next four or five years,” said Gary Burtless, a senior economist at Brookings. “Even in the long run, if they have any effect all, it would be extremely marginal, relative to the jobs deficit we currently have.”
“At the heart of the GOP jobs package is a push for rolling back regulations — and gutting environmental laws that regulate clean air and water — to spur job growth.
The House Republican Conference website makes the argument that deregulation will “remove onerous federal regulations that are redundant, harmful to small businesses, and impede private sector investment and job creation.”
“But economists told The Huffington Post that regulation has had a minimal impact on the unemployment rate. Their claim is backed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows that just under 16,000 jobs, or 0.4 percent, were lost because of “government regulations/intervention.”
“Even one of the more popular bills in the mix — a small business tax cut — won’t do much for job creation, some of the economists said. They argued that it’s not that businesses need more money for hiring, but that they need a sufficient demand for their products.”
“They know that if they hire people to produce more widgets, they won’t be able to sell the widgets,” Prakken said. “Giving them a tax break just increases their profits,” but doesn’t encourage hiring.
“Ultimately, each economist was clear on one point: The GOP package is far more political than practical.”
“It’s game playing to try to pretend like they’re doing something,” said Jesse Rothstein, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “It’s silly season, and so they know they have to put up something that has the label ‘job creation’ on it, whether or not it would work.”
“Boehner spokesman Michael Steel demurred when asked for a response…
A Cantor spokeswoman did not return a request for comment.”
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