GOP: Disappointing jobs report proves we don't need Biden's jobs plan

Republicans are trying to argue against President Joe Biden’s jobs plan by pointing to Friday’s national jobs report, which showed April’s numbers were lower than what economists had been expecting.

Friday’s report, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, estimated that employers added 266,000 jobs last month — down significantly from March — and that the unemployment rate was nearly unchanged at 6.1%.

That was enough to spark Republican outcry.

“Today’s jobs report is a disappointment—just like President Biden’s plan to burden families with more taxes & more debt,” wrote House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “While Dems trap people in a cycle of fear & pay them NOT to work, it’s clear the best thing to do is end the crisis-era policies & get Americans back to work.

“This #JobsReport is a clear message to @JoeBiden that his policies are not working,” tweeted the Senate Republican conference. “This is not the time to raise taxes. Unemployment bonuses paying people more to stay home than to work are the wrong idea. That’s a disincentive to work.”

“This is the biggest miss in the history of the jobs report, and Biden is to blame. He won’t demand schools open, hurting women the most. He destroyed energy jobs. He wants massive tax hikes,” claimed Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. “His policies are a disaster, and the last thing we need is $4 TRILLION more of them.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who is in the midst of attempting to unseat House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, claimed on Twitter that “Joe Biden & Nancy Pelosi own today’s horrendous jobs report.”

“This is the Biden/Pelosi economy,” she wrote. “Trillions in proposed tax increases. Trillions in uncontrolled spending.”

Biden, however, has proposed a $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan, which would invest in roads, bridges, water systems, transit, child care, clean energy, and caregiving infrastructure, to bring the country out of its Trump-era economic slump. The plan would be funded by increasing corporate tax revenue.

He has also offered a $1.8 trillion American Families Plan to provide universal pre-K, free community college, guarantee paid leave, expand access to child care, and make health care more affordable. That proposal would be paid for with a tax increase for those making at least $400,000 a year.

Republicans have opposed both plans, objecting to the tax increases and most of the spending. But experts say the American Jobs Plan would actually create millions of jobs.

One recent analysis done at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce predicted that even a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package would create or preserve 15 million jobs over the next 10 years.

A Moody’s Analytics report estimated that should Biden’s plan be enacted, the economy would create 19 million jobs — 2.7 million more than without the investments.

The New York Times noted Friday that for millions of Americans, child care and health concerns are keeping them from trying to rejoin the workforce. Biden’s plans would provide the infrastructure to make it possible for many of them to return to work.

Ironically, Republicans previously opposed much of Biden’s jobs plan as unnecessary and warned it might overheat the economy by being too effective.

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has repeatedly warned that Biden’s plans might cause inflation. “It’s time for Biden to wake up from his liberal dream and realize that reckless spending has consequences, inflation is real and America’s debt crisis is growing. Inflation is rising and Americans deserve answers from Biden now,” he said in an April 9 statement.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell argued in March 11 that the economy was about to “boom,” but that it would have nothing to do with Biden’s pandemic relief package.

“The American people already built a parade that’s been marching toward victory. Democrats just want to sprint to the front of that parade and claim credit,” the Kentucky Republican opined.

“2021 is set to be an historic comeback year. Not because of far-left legislation that was passed after the tide had already turned. But because of the resilience of the American people.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.