Commentary

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on April Jobs Report


Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–May 4, 2012. 

America’s economy continued to add jobs in April, which is welcome news. But the addition of 115,000 net new jobs last month is not nearly enough to put our economy back on track to full employment, shared prosperity and sustainable growth.  Republican obstruction to the President’s jobs agenda has left working people in a holding pattern.  Our economy continues to be severely off balance. We need our policymakers to commit to robust and sustained policy action to create jobs on the scale needed to put America back to work. 

There are still too many working men and women struggling to find work, pay the bills, and make ends meet. Yet for purely political and cynical reasons, Republicans in Congress have blocked President Obama’s efforts to keep propelling growth, whether it’s the American Jobs Act or routine highway infrastructure investments. 

Meanwhile, Republicans push catastrophic budgets that threaten our economic security and break our promises to the next generation. Our leaders must show the courage and the sense to reject more of the failed policies that allow people like Mitt Romney to game the system and leave working people behind. 

Pursuing tried and failed economic policies is the definition of crazy – and exactly what Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, John Boehner and others would do. Their austerity agenda concentrates wealth in the hands of a few, starves our nation of the funds needed to invest in our future, further deepens the wealth divide and chokes off any hope of a strong recovery. 

There is a clear contrast between Mitt Romney’s vision of America and that of working people. We have a choice. We can build an America of financial brokers and Wall Street or a real economy where we build, innovate, train, and invest in our future.

Source: aflcio.org


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