More Business, More Investment, More Job Openings, and Higher Pay
‘Just sixteen months into the Trump Administration and this Republican Congress, the percentage of American workers who are unemployed, underemployed, or have given up finding a job is already smaller than it ever was in the Obama years. In fact, it hasn’t been this low since 2001. Let me say that again. Less unemployment, underemployment, and discouragement today than at any point in the last 17 years.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the benefits Americans continue to see from the Republican pro-opportunity, pro-worker agenda:
“Now on one final matter, in storefront windows across America, new signs are going up - signs that many communities haven’t seen in years. ‘Now Hiring.’
“Just sixteen months into the Trump Administration and this Republican Congress, the percentage of American workers who are unemployed, underemployed, or have given up finding a job is already smaller than it ever was in the Obama years. In fact, it hasn’t been this low since 2001. Let me say that again. Less unemployment, underemployment, and discouragement today than at any point in the last 17 years.
“Or we can look at how many Americans are receiving unemployment benefits. The answer is: Fewer today than at any point since 1973. We all know these economic indicators can be noisy. But the big overall shift from the Obama era is impossible to deny.
“Republican policies have taken Washington’s foot off the brake of the U.S. economy. We’ve rolled back a host of job-killing regulations. We’ve passed historic tax reform for middle-class families and job creators. These Republican policies have helped to unleash a dynamic, growing economy that’s producing many more new jobs. It’s putting the stagnation of the last decade to shame. That means sidelined workers get the chance to check back into the game.
“It means renewal is coming to so many of the small towns, small cities, and rural areas that had to sit and watch as Democratic policies funneled nearly all the new wealth and new jobs into our nation’s biggest and bluest urban areas. It means higher wages, as local businesses are forced to compete again for the best workers.
“I recently read about a man named Chandler Steffy. He owns a roofing company in Iowa. Three years ago, in the Obama economy, his laborers earned less than $15 per hour. Today is a different story. Now, the unemployment rate in Iowa is under three percent, and Mr. Steffy pays $25 per hour to attract the best talent.
“American small businesses doing well, and outbidding each other for American workers. It feels good, doesn’t it? After ten years of Democratic policies, this had practically become a foreign concept. Not anymore. It’s a new day. More business for job creators… which means more good jobs that need filling… which leads to higher pay for workers. This is happening all over the country.
“Rich Obermark owns a small contracting business in Paducah, Kentucky. They retrofit electrical systems, A/V equipment, and gas piping. He wrote me to explain, quote, ‘for our small company, the tax cuts will mean [we’ll] be able to afford more trucks and tools.’ Tax reform, he said, ‘will allow us to invest back into our company which will in turn allow us to hire more people.’
“More business, more investment, more job openings, and higher pay for workers as a consequence. After eight years of Democratic policies, this sure is a sight for sore eyes. And this is only the beginning. These are only the early returns from Republicans’ pro-opportunity, pro-worker agenda.”
Related Issues: Economy, Tax Reform, Jobs, Middle Class, Taxes
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