Every first Friday of the month, it would seem, we are fated to go through the same kabuki theater routine concerning the jobs report numbers. The Republicans tsk-tsk and point fingers at Obama for the weak numbers, while Obama dutifully mutters, "We're making gains but we're not where we would like to be."
Just once I'd like to hear Obama say to reporters, "What are you asking me for? I propsed a jobs program a year ago that would have added millions of jobs to our economy but that the Republicans have never brought to a vote. Ask them why there are so few jobs." Oh well, a guy can dream can't he?
And, of course, Obama would be right. In fact, Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the President's proposing, before a joint-session of Congress, the American Jobs Act which would have provided millions of jobs for unemployed Americans and would have made these monthly reports look an awful lot better than they have over this past year.
Just how much better?
Take a look.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
–Moody’s Analytics estimated the American Jobs Act would create 1.9 million jobs and add two percent to gross domestic product.
–The Economic Policy Institute estimated it would create 2.6 million jobs and protect an addition 1.6 million existing jobs.
–Macroeconomic Advisers predicted it would create 2.1 million jobs and boost GDP by 1.5 percent.
–Goldman Sachs estimated it would add 1.5 percent to GDP.
Thus, instead of the anemic numbers we've been getting, most months would have seen an average of 200,000-300,000 jobs added to the economy. And the unemployment rate would be considerably under 8% as well, I'm sure.
Just imagine if, every first Friday of the month, the President were to call the crocodile-tear-shedding Republicans out for deliberately sabotaging the economy and preventing desperate Americans from finding work.
Like I said, a guy can dream.