Jobs? Who needs jobs? Especially those pesky middle-class jobs.
Politico’s “Morning Energy” has this:
OBAMA QUESTIONS ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF KEYSTONE XL: President Barack Obama, who usually deflects questions about the Keystone XL pipeline, made waves this weekend when he questioned jobs claims made about the project and appeared to agree with a recent analysis by environmentalists that concluded the pipeline would raise gasoline prices in the Midwest. “Republicans have said that this would be a big jobs generator,” Obama told The New York Times in an interview conducted last Wednesday and published Saturday. “There is no evidence that that’s true. The most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we’re talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people.” NYT: http://nyti.ms/1bw0czo
TransCanada shot back over Obama’s remarks Saturday night in an email to reporters. “We have dealt with criticism of our job number totals for over two years and we stand by them,” company spokesman James Millar wrote. “It is not logical to think a $7.6 billion dollar infrastructure project stretching across the entire breadth of the continental U.S. wouldn’t employ thousands of workers both in the manufacturing sector and in constructing the pipeline. I think the Americans we have put to work so far appreciate the fact they have been able to put food on the table for their families by helping to build Keystone.” Millar said building the southern leg of Keystone XL, which is almost complete, employed 4,000 people.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board took the president to task with an editorial titled, “Keystone Contradictions:”
TransCanada, the company that wants to invest $5.3 billion to build the pipeline, claims there will be 13,000 jobs in construction alone. That doesn’t include the U.S. companies that would supply steel pipe, valves and motors for the project, plus the jobs providing services to those construction crews.
But even if TransCanada were lying, think about a President sneering at 2,000 jobs for “a year or two” when the U.S. jobless rate is 7.6%. This is the same President who justified his $830 billion stimulus, and even now wants more government spending on public works, in the name of creating jobs, some of which are also for only “a year or two.” The jobs Mr. Obama seems to despise are those created by someone other than government.
Comments
Al Smith
Monday, July 29, 2013 11:27 PM
This is only further proof this president does not want to create jobs unless they are fat cat government jobs paid for by the dwindling number of tax paying workers in the private sector.
This president promised to fundamentally change America and he is doing just that. He is rapidly moving our economy from one of the most powerful wealth generating systems the world has ever known to one based on the failed socialist idea of spreading and sharing the wealth. Don’t look now but our country just passed the point where there are more takers than there are earners.
We are rapidly approaching 17 trillion in national debt, the true unemployment rate is likely in the high teens, the Federal Reserve policies are supporting the stock market, and Obamacare is staring us in the face and will further decrease the number of full time employed.
The big fight will soon be on as the president wants to again raise the debt ceiling so the government can borrow more to pay its expenses. As companies adjust their work force to accommodate Obamacare, more temporary and part time employees will be hired and cuts will occur in the full time work force to avoid providing employees healthcare. When the Federal Reserve decides to scale back its massive bond-buying aimed at stimulating the economy the stock market may crater as it did in 1987.
Now this president refuses add a few thousand real jobs when “first time” jobless claims in his economy for the week ending July 20 stood at 342,000! And this was just last week, it has been nearly the same every week for years under this president.
I’m truly concerned American prosperity will soon be our history and real poverty our future.
It is time to say enough! Express your thoughts here and in your local paper. Call and write our congressmen, our senators and above all, President Obama.
Time is short…today is a good day to act.