President's Jobs Crisis Continues

The Bush administration's rap sheet on jobs keeps getting longer. Just weeks after President Bush predicted the nation would add 320,000 jobs per month in 2004, "America's unemployment rate remained stuck at 5.6 percent in February as the economy added a paltry 21,000 positions," according to a report this morning by the Department of Labor. The dismal decline in manufacturing employment lingers on as the sector lost another 3,000 jobs last month, making it the 43rd straight month of job losses in manufacturing. And nearly 8.2 million people remained out of work in February. With anxiety and pressures on the rise across America, President Bush continues to argue his tax cuts have helped the middle class – a difficult tonic to swallow for millions of struggling Americans.

• President Bush's massive tax cuts for the rich failed to produce adequate jobs for the middle class. Despite three rounds of tax cuts since 2001, and endless spin about economic growth and job creation, President Bush is on course to finish his term with fewer jobs than when he started – an infamous record unbroken since Herbert Hoover. Compounding problems, the president's irresponsible fiscal policies have created a gigantic budget hole projected to total $5 trillion over the next decade, threatening future job opportunities and living standards for America's middle class.
• The jobs outlook for the unemployed is getting worse, not better. The latest Labor Department numbers show the average length of unemployment is now up to 20.3 weeks – the longest duration of unemployment in 20 years. Coupled with the administration's refusal to extend unemployment benefits, the situation for the jobless looks bleak and unlikely to improve given President Bush's economic priorities.
• At a time of rising financial burdens, President Bush is seeking to cut worker training and assistance programs for millions of Americans. Despite clear evidence of difficult economic times for many Americans, the administration's 2005 budget calls for reduced access to worker training, child care support, housing assistance, tuition relief, and public health insurance – all programs vital to the economic survival of hard hit families. President Bush seems more interested in brow beating the middle class with tales of economic recovery than in extending a hand to those still struggling to meet rising costs and burdensome debt.

Daily Talking Points is a product of the Center for American Progress, a non-partisan research and educational institute committed to progressive principles for a strong, just and free America.