Oh That Joe: Biden Defends Economic Stimulus Plan in Ohio
Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration’s efforts to rebuild America’s economy are working and he expressed frustration with those who say progress is too slow.
“Remember, we’re only 140 days into this deal. It’s supposed to take 18 months,†Biden said in a speech after touring a redevelopment project in Cincinnati.
Biden ticked off the programs funded through the $787 billion economic stimulus measure enacted in February. Thousands of jobs a day have been saved and interest rates have been kept low, saving middle-class families $1,200 to $1,600 a year in mortgage payments, he said.
Ohio’s economy has been hit hard by the recession. The state’s unemployment rate in May was 10.8 percent, up from 10.2 percent in April and higher than the national average of 9.4 percent. The state lost 4.9 percent of its jobs between May 2008 and 2009, and manufacturing jobs plummeted by 16.7 percent during that period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The vice president’s trip follows a poll that found that President Barack Obama’s approval rating has dropped by 13 percentage points from two months ago in Ohio, traditionally a critical swing state in presidential elections.
The survey by Quinnipiac University released July 7 showed 49 percent of Ohio voters approved of Obama’s job performance, down from 62 percent in a May 6 poll. The disapproval figure for Obama in the new poll was 44 percent, up from 31 percent in May.
Ohio “has been hard hit through no fault of your own,†Biden told the crowd today. So far, $4.4 billion in Recovery Act funds have been set aside for Ohio, including $2 billion for education, $1 billion for health care and $445 million for transportation, he said.
“These investments are already lifting up Cincinnati,†he said.
Biden toured the site of the American Can Company, an abandoned factory on the city’s north side which is being converted into a complex of apartments, offices and stores. Stimulus funds will pay $1.6 million of the project’s cost and create as many as 100 jobs, Biden said.
No, just an embellishment of the truth which is worse.
There has been NO economic stimulus in Ohio or anywhere from the ridiculous spending in the Obama Porkulus bill that passed with only three Republican Senate votes (one of which then defected to become a Democrat).
Biden and the congressional Democrats need to take responsibility for their poor performance and patience in this case is just another excuse.
How about a real economic stimulus and cancel the rest of the pork spending, Mr. Vice President?
Technorati Tags: Joe Biden, Economic Stimulus, Porkulus
One Comment
Reaganite Republican
The Porkulus is a train-wreck… these jobs figures are far worse than the ones the White House warned us about if we DIDN’T pass the bill- so it was passed, and then unemployment soars anyway?
Instead of creating jobs, interest rates were bumped up, the dollar slid… and it didn’t help anybody get any work. Much of this is due to the fact that Obama’s agenda has mortified almost every source of job-and-growth creation in the country.
The Dear Leader couldn’t deliver the type of “temporary, targeted, and timely†bill that he promised repeatedly. Regardless of his image in the MSM, Obama simply lacks the the political stature to control Pelosi and Reid… who hit the trough hard, while bickering like children.
And the lack of GOP co-conspirators exposed Obama politically… this legislation now looks to be a HUGE gamble. And when all this pork-n-welfare fails to generate any real economic gains, the Democrats face a bloodbath in 2010.