Skip to Content

Left Turns

The Failure of “Recovery Summer” is No Laughing Matter

One year ago, the Obama administration promised the American people the summer of 2010 was “poised to be the most active Recovery Act season yet.” This was just one more assurance on top of many, including the claim that the $830 billion stimulus bill would invest in “shovel ready” projects to create millions of jobs and keep unemployment below 8 percent. Despite these lofty promises, most people outside the Washington Beltway now know the “Recovery Act” failed. Recently, President Obama chuckled that the stimulus wasn’t as successful as his administration predicted. 

“Despite what the president may think, the failure of the so-called stimulus spending binge is no laughing matter,” said Chairman John Kline (R-MN). “At a time when families and businesses were struggling through a deep recession, President Obama and Democrats in Congress promised that a massive government spending bill would keep unemployment below 8 percent. With unemployment still hovering around 9 percent, taxpayers and workers are on the losing end of this broken promise and failed experiment in wasteful government spending. Instead of laughing about the past, it’s time to get serious about our fiscal crisis and anemic job growth. House Republicans have a plan to rein in government spending and get Washington out of the way of our economy.”

Despite the clear failure of the stimulus spending boondoggle and warnings of a double-dip recession, the administration continues to promote policies that will slow our economy and destroy jobs. The administration’s agenda has resulted in: 

Too Much Spending: Since the start of last year’s “recovery summer,” the national debt has increased by more than $1.3 trillion. Yet last February, the president introduced a budget that continues to spend too much, tax too much, and borrow too much. The president’s proposal will triple our debt by the time he leaves office, compounding our fiscal crisis. More than 150 economists have called for spending cuts to spur economic growth, yet the president continues to turn a deaf ear to calls for fiscal discipline. 

Too Much Regulation: At a time when job creators already face a mountain of government regulation, the administration has proposed numerous new regulations that will have a chilling effect on our economy and create even greater uncertainty. The most recent example is the administration’s determination to further regulate institutions of higher learning. Even though a strong, bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives voted to defeat the job-destroying gainful employment regulation, the administration ignored the will of Congress. As a result, schools now face additional regulatory burdens and students have fewer options to pursue an education. 

Too Much Government: Just months before the “recovery summer” began, the president signed into law his plan for a government takeover of health care. We are continuing to learn about even more negative consequences of this job-destroying health care law. Recent hearings have highlighted how the law will increase costs and create more uncertainty for employers. While the president’s health care law buries businesses in new mandates, the Obama National Labor Relations Board is pursuing an activist agenda that places even greater pressure on America’s job creators. 

Too Few Jobs: It has been a year since the “recovery summer” was launched with great fanfare, yet our economy is still unable to create the jobs desperately needed to dig us out of the recession. For 28 consecutive months, the national unemployment rate has been greater than 8 percent and today, nearly 14 million Americans are unemployed. More than 6 million individuals have been out of work for 27 weeks or more and 2.2 million individuals have stopped looking for work.  

With a economic record like this, who can possibly be laughing?

Republicans recognize the failed policies of the past will not spur economic growth or job creation. That is why House Republicans have introduced A Plan for America’s Job Creators. This commonsense plan will remove government barriers to private-sector job growth. To learn more, visit Jobs.GOP.gov.


# # #

Stay Connected