Now that the debt deal is done, can we get back to creating middle class jobs, instead of political gain for Republican politicians? At every turn, it appears Republicans are putting politics before people. Republicans in Congress and those across the country have been busy decreasing the middle class by laying off teachers, nurses and construction workers. Less workers means less customers in stores to jump start the economy and less money in the pockets of middle class Americans. All of the Republican motivation has been to see the President fails rather than Americans succeed.
Republicans and the new debt deal, in the process, will destroy jobs, possibly gut Medicare benefits we already paid for and slash Medicaid benefits which seniors in nursing homes rely on. But instead of raising tax rates for millionaires, Republicans seem more bent on making the middle class suffer. And here’s the little known secret. The US has the second lowest corporate tax rate in the developed world. And many big corporations don’t pay any taxes at all, while corporate profits are at an all -time high. The new debt deal could put almost 2 million people out of work next year. The new super committee established by the debt deal must focus on creating jobs. That’s easier said than done. Immediately after the debt bill passed, Republicans skipped down for their month of August vacation and return in September. And if that’s not enough, Republicans have eliminated nearly 7 million jobs in 2011 while accusing President Obama of not doing enough to create jobs. Meanwhile, independent experts such as the Economic Policy Institute agree that the Obama’s administration economic policies have kept overall unemployment from shooting up past 12%. And the Obama administration has created jobs for 16 months straight. The July jobs numbers for private sector in July added 114,000 new jobs. Yet, this is not enough.
It’s now been 210 days since the Republican congress took office. Since then, there have been no jobs bills only slash, cut and take the money and run. There are 7
jobs bills pending in Congress. But instead of jobs, Congress has taken yet another vacation. As soon as the debt deal was voted on, the Republican Congress
announced their vacation. I was always told that I had to do my homework first before I could go outside and play. That’s apparently not so in politics. So when are the jobs coming?
Debbie Hines is a political and legal commentator who is frequently featured in the media. She founded LegalSpeaks, a progressive blog on law and politics as it intersects race and gender. She also writes for the Huffington Post.