As President Barack Obama kicks off an all-out push for attacking the persistent unemployment rate, underemployment rate, stagnant wages and income inequality, and the creation of millions of jobs, the Secretary of Labor (you can find their name here) came under fire on Monday for saying any effort would be “unbelievably small” and suggesting the labor market still had many months to create jobs without government intervention - a remark the Labor Secretary's spokeswoman later attempted to clarify.
The off-key comments came in a joint press conference in London with Britain’s Labor secretary, where the US Labor Secretary said the effort would be able to create hundreds of thousands of jobs without government interference and with a “very limited, very targeted, short-term effort.”
“That is exactly what we are talking about doing, unbelievably small, limited kind of effort,” the Secretary said.
The comments, which dismayed even supporters of an all out push on job creation, added fuel to the debate as Obama
launches a full court press 48-hour media and political blitz to try to sell the plan to a skeptical American public and Congress.
On Monday, Obama will sit down with anchors from six networks, PBS, CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC, for seven- to 10-minute interviews that will air Monday night. On Tuesday, the president will address the nation in a televised address in prime time.
The White House was also expected to
continue to reach out to members of Congress through high-profile Cabinet members as well as the vice president and president himself. On Monday afternoon, Treasury Security Jack Lew
was set to hold a public speaking event at
The Economic Policy Institute to bolster the Labor Secretary's
call for more public sector jobs.
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The U.S. Secretary of Labor says new numbers out Friday show steady economic growth but more needs to be accomplished in the public sector.
Labor Secretary tells KMOX News the thousands of “government-type” jobs lost in the past few years have been a hindrance.
“This is self-inflicted and that’s what’s frustrating. We could have an unemployment rate, right now, under seven percent if we had just managed to hold employment flat,” he said.
The national unemployment rate stands at 7.3 percent, the lowest in nearly five years. Missouri’s latest figure is 7.1 percent.
Despite the optimism shared by the Labor Department Friday, skeptics say the federal unemployment rate dropped because more and more Americans have simply stopped looking for work.
“It’s undeniable that the rungs in the ladder of opportunity for too many people are feeling further and further apart,” he added.
But the Labor Secretary's comments Monday caused even some of the president’s strongest backers for government intervention to call the White House’s outreach a disaster.
If only.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...