Romney: Obama must take responsibility for weak jobs report
Romney blamed the president’s policies for the slow job growth.
By EMILY DERUY
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney lambasted President Obama for failing to “get America working” following an underwhelming June jobs report.
“The president’s policies have not gotten America working again, and the president is going to have to stand up and take responsibility for it,” Romney said in Wolfeboro, N.H. where he is vacationing with family.
He blamed what he called “the highest corporate tax rates in the world”, “trade policies that have not opened up markets for new goods”, and the president’s failure to “crack down on China” for the 8.2 unemployment rate, which is unchanged since May.
“Forty-one months above 8 percent pretty much defines lack of success,” he said, when asked by a reporter whether some of the numbers were outside of the president’s control.
“Any jobs figures, there are going to be factors that come and go that you can’t control things, but there are things you can control that you want to get right,” Romney said. “We’ve looked at now almost four years of policies that have not got America working again.”
The jobs report spelled bad news for the president, it’s the third straight month when jobs numbers fell short of expectations. The news comes as President Obama is on a campaign bus tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Alan Krueger, chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, said that job growth isn’t happening fast enough to replace the jobs lost during the recession. But he credited Obama’s policies for stopping job losses and sparking positive job growth for 28 straight months.
“Employment is growing but it is not growing fast enough given the jobs deficit caused by the deep recession,” Krueger said.
Krueger added that the public shouldn’t read too much into one jobs report.
“The monthly employment and unemployment figures can be volatile, and employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision. Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report,” he said.
When pressed for what he would do differently than Obama, Romney referred to his 59 step plan for the economy. In the plan he calls for opening federal land for drilling, reducing the corporate tax rate, stopping some energy regulations that “make manufacturers fear they can’t rely on American energy,” opening new markets in Latin America, and “cracking down seriously on China.”
Romney also took the opportunity to criticize the Affordable Care Act, dismissing the notion that it’s nearly identical to a healthcare law he signed as Massachusetts governor.
“I’ve spoken about healthcare from the day we passed it in Massachusetts…and people said is this something I’d apply at the federal level, and I said, ‘No.’”
He also made a passing reference to immigration, saying, “I’d encourage the dreamers to come to America…to invest in America again.”
(Photo: Facebook.com/MittRomney)
