Where Are The Jobs

For the past year and a half the Republicans have criticized the Obama administration for not focusing on job creation.  During the mid-term campaign their message was clear and consistent.  Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!  This mantra was repeated over and over across every conceivable media outlet.   The President, they proclaimed, had erroneously placed his focus on health care reform at a time when Americans were struggling to find work and care for their families.  They portrayed the President as being out of touch with the needs of the country.  Republicans promised that once elected they would heed the will of the voters and concentrate on getting the nation back to work.  With real unemployment hovering around 19% the voters responded and swept Republicans into office.

So what has the newly elected Republican majority been doing to spur job growth since taking office? 

They have been repealing health care reform.

Instead of proposing creative legislation that will create jobs they have been repealing the President’s signature piece of legislation for political theater.  Instead of charging the Congressional committees with the task of finding ways to put Americans back to work they have charged those committees with finding alternatives to Obama’s health care reform policies.  Instead of doing what they said they would do they are doing exactly what they criticized Obama for doing.  

Republicans will say that they are repealing the health care reform act because it is a job killing piece of legislation. But the Congressional Budget Office and virtually every economist disagree.

Republicans will tell you that they extended the Bush tax cuts for the rich and these tax savings will trickle down into the development of new jobs.  But virtually every economist will tell you that the rich will pocket most of those tax savings and if any money trickles into job creation it will be creating jobs overseas.

So where are the jobs, jobs jobs?