Ben Craw wrote the following for The Huffington Post:
The health care reform law can rightfully be considered a jobs bill - the costs associated with health care are enough to cripple the economy (pun intended), but things like the debt ceiling crisis was only a crisis because the GOP manufactured the entire situation. Something as arbitrary as the debt ceiling limit became a point of contention for the Republicans, mainly to satisfy their base and to score some political victories - namely some additional cuts to the government, which will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the near future's employment scene. And how about that whole FAA crisis (again manufactured by the right) - the GOP's standoff over a couple million dollars in subsidies cost the government nearly 35 times more and left thousands collecting no paychecks and job-creating projects on hold.
It seems that the only reason why the president has had to pivot back to jobs was because of the Republicans, who by the way promised last year that their sole focus when taking office would be jobs. It seems every piece of legislation coming from the Republicans in congress deal with every other issue, from trying to kill Medicaid to fighting against homosexuality.
One big reason the Republicans are playing games with the employment situation is because they are looking for an issue to exploit during next year's election. They would have an awfully hard time running against Obama if the economy was looking up - say what you want about the president, he has had some pretty major accomplishments these past couple years and the Republicans have been working hard to spin those in their favor, but the economy is typically a major sticking point with the electorate and can be enough to derail a successful campaign.
Now that the debate over raising the nation's debt ceiling has been temporarily resolved, the White House has pledged, once again, to "pivot" to jobs.Here is an even better question: What were the causes for such unwelcome crises and how many times have Republicans focused on employment?
If the promise is giving you a sense of déjà vu, you're not alone.
In his very first address to Congress in February of 2009, President Barack Obama promised an agenda focused on job creation. Following every major subsequent event of his presidency -- be it a concerted campaign like health care reform or, much more frequently, an unwelcome crisis -- he has been forced to reiterate that he will now focus on jobs. Just how many times has he made the jobs promise?
The health care reform law can rightfully be considered a jobs bill - the costs associated with health care are enough to cripple the economy (pun intended), but things like the debt ceiling crisis was only a crisis because the GOP manufactured the entire situation. Something as arbitrary as the debt ceiling limit became a point of contention for the Republicans, mainly to satisfy their base and to score some political victories - namely some additional cuts to the government, which will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the near future's employment scene. And how about that whole FAA crisis (again manufactured by the right) - the GOP's standoff over a couple million dollars in subsidies cost the government nearly 35 times more and left thousands collecting no paychecks and job-creating projects on hold.
It seems that the only reason why the president has had to pivot back to jobs was because of the Republicans, who by the way promised last year that their sole focus when taking office would be jobs. It seems every piece of legislation coming from the Republicans in congress deal with every other issue, from trying to kill Medicaid to fighting against homosexuality.
One big reason the Republicans are playing games with the employment situation is because they are looking for an issue to exploit during next year's election. They would have an awfully hard time running against Obama if the economy was looking up - say what you want about the president, he has had some pretty major accomplishments these past couple years and the Republicans have been working hard to spin those in their favor, but the economy is typically a major sticking point with the electorate and can be enough to derail a successful campaign.
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