Last night, House Republicans delighted their Tea Party base and passed the bill called Duck, Dodge, and Dismantle (also known as Cut, Cap, and Balance) that safeguards tax cuts for the wealthy yet slashes health care for low-income children.
However, vulnerable children aren’t the only ones hurt by this wrongheaded approach. Because of their marriage to the ideological fringe, this Republican bill would cost 700,000 people their jobs in 2012 alone.
It’s a measure that shows Republicans’ backward priorities and their failure to stand up for working families.
The Republican bill requires $111 billion in cuts for fiscal year 2012, which begins on October 1st. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities explains that such a cut would “cause the loss of roughly 700,000 jobs.”
Eliminating 700,000 jobs for the sake of ideology? Putting 700,000 additional people out of work because Republicans won’t stand up to the Tea Party?
The Republican willingness to threaten the livelihood of nearly a million workers under the phony guise of fiscal responsibility is offensive and unfathomable.
For 16 consecutive months, the American economy has created more than 2.2 million private-sector jobs total. But far too many people are still looking for work.
President Obama is committed to a balanced compromise that repairs years of reckless spending under the previous administration and helps our country live within its means. But spending cuts shouldn’t come at the expense of America’s most vulnerable or investments in our future – and it shouldn’t cripple economic growth.