Republicans Have Zero Solutions for the Unemployed

This past weekend, our nation celebrated the infinite contributions of America’s workforce.  But for the millions who are unemployed and desperately want to land a paycheck, this Labor Day was a sad one. Those without work didn’t need a day off.

The situation for America’s unemployed truly couldn’t be any worse. People who have been out of a job for extended periods of time have a far more difficult time reentering the workforce. And extended unemployment is an emotionally draining experience.

Democrats have been working to alleviate the pain of the jobless from passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to extending unemployment benefits.

Republicans, on the other hand, continue to be astonishingly out-of-touch with our nation’s unemployed. At a time when the number of Americans out of work for at least 27 weeks has hit 5.2 million, they’ve actually pushed to reduce the maximum length of unemployment benefits.

The GOP has also stood in the way of efforts to pass legislation that would help to create jobs domestically. And yet, as made evident at their recent convention in Tampa, their chief message to the voting public is: “This crisis happened under Obama’s watch so he doesn’t deserve a second term.”

That dissonance — between actions and words — would be comically absurd if the stakes weren’t so high. The President has tried, over and over again, to pass legislation to stimulate job growth, curb outsourcing, and give American companies incentive to create new positions here at home.

And every time, the GOP has stymied his efforts.

Come November, let’s remember who is actually trying to improve the employment situation in this country and who has left workers out in the cold. Be sure to join our new effort: Bee Mad @ the GOP! We’ve committed ourselves to pointing out the many ways that Republicans are failing working Americans.