Economy, Small Business and Jobs
Many of us are still feeling the squeeze of hard financial times. I’ve spent time with you at Government in the Grocery, walking our neighborhoods and talking and emailing with you. I understand the frustration and anger you feel about arbitrary credit card rate increases, excessive bonuses for Wall Street executives, and the tight job market. I’m angry and frustrated too.
I know we still have tough times ahead, but I think slowly times will get better. I’m betting on the hard working people in this district and state to come through this even stronger than before.
While unemployment is still unacceptably high, we have stopped the steep rate of job losses.
In January 2009, the last month of Bush’s Presidency, we lost 741,000 jobs. This past January we only lost 20,000. And in fact, we’ve started gaining jobs each month. And we have a long way to go to make up for the sharp losses we’ve experienced. We are seeing slow economic growth and are looking forward to continued projected growth in our economy.
While I want to focus on finding ways to save the jobs we have, I also want to help spur job creation.
Since February 2009, in the 7th Congressional District, more than 1,600 jobs were saved or created. Most of the jobs were construction jobs, teacher’s jobs, law enforcement and many research and energy jobs in our expanding alternative and renewable energy field.
We have to invest in small businesses. I will continue to work to help small businesses hire new workers and get the loans they need to expand their businesses – like Big Papa’s BBQ. Through tax cuts and credits and small business loans, we have to make sure to bolster the entrepreneurial spirit and ingenuity that makes this district the best place in America to live, work and raise a family.
While investing in jobs must continue to be our first priority to get the economy moving again, we also face a national debt that is unsustainable. Years of tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and prosecuting two wars, all without paying for any of it and failing to police Wall Street has gotten us here and it will take time to recover. But in the absence of extraordinary circumstances we should continue to work with a pay-as-you-go policy just like we all do to manage our family budgets.
We cannot continue with the status quo. No is not an option. I will continue supporting policies to ensure good paying jobs stay and are created right here in this district so individuals, families and small businesses can flourish and prosper.
