Jobs, What Jobs?

Last year, Barbara Boxer, President Obama and their Democratic allies in Congress told the American people that the stimulus plan, despite its cost, would jumpstart the nation’s economy and keep unemployment under 8 percent. In fact Barbara Boxer said it would bring “help and hope” to the millions of unemployed people in our state. (Senator Barbara Boxer, “Boxer Praises Passage Of Economic Recovery Legislation,” Press Release, 2/13/09)

Unfortunately in this case, the stimulus’s bite has not measured up to Boxer’s bark. With unemployment in California soaring to its highest level in decades – an astonishing 12.6 percent – it’s clear that the stimulus plan has not delivered the results we were promised. The facts could not be clearer:

  • Since The Stimulus Was Passed 2,253,000 Americans Have Lost Their Jobs. (“The Employment Situation – May 2010,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 6/4/10)
  • California’s Unemployment Rate Was An Abysmal 12.6 Percent in April. (Employment Development Department, 5/21/10)
  • Eleven Of The 14 Toughest Job Markets In The Nation Are In California. “ (Maya Jackson Randall, “Jobless Rate Rises in Most U.S. Cities,” Wall Street Journal, 6/2/10)

And when we drill down deeper into the numbers, it becomes all too apparent that the real growth happening is actually in the size of government. Instead of stimulating private-sector job growth that will sustain a growing economy in the long term, the stimulus plan has simply grown the public employee workforce.

  • Since The Stimulus Was Passed Public Sector Employers Have Added 399,000 Jobs While The Private Sector Has Shed 2,652,000 Jobs. (“The Employment Situation – May 2010,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 6/4/10)

Since coming to terms with her electoral vulnerability, Barbara Boxer has ramped up her Election Year rhetoric claiming to be fighting for jobs. Unfortunately for the people of California, it looks like, under her watch, we’re getting suckerpunched by a dismal economy and an expensive stimulus plan that doesn’t deliver. So buyer, or voter beware – when Barbara runs around touting these “miracle jobs recoveries” across the state, take a look again at the numbers. Her media tour cannot cover up the fact that Californians are suffering at the hands of failed and expensive government polices she has championed.