May 8, 2012

 

 WOMEN STRUGGLING IN OBAMA’S FAILING ECONOMY

Last Friday’s job data released by the Administration shows that our nation is in its worst employment crisis since the Great Depression.  Because the president and the Left cannot stand on their record, they have resorted to the politics of division and envy by trying to manufacture a gender war. 

That political strategy is not surprising, especially if your own administration reported data on how badly women are hurting in the economy your policies helped create:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• Since President Obama took office, women have accounted for the vast majority of job losses.
• The number of able-bodied women that are no longer working or looking for work has increased by 4 million since President Obama took office.
• From his inauguration day until the present day, the unemployment rate among women has spiked by 14 percent.
• The number of unemployed single women has grown by 12 percent since the President was sworn-into office.
• There are 567,000 fewer women working today than when President Obama took office.

• Unemployment among women would be higher if so many had not left the work force since President Obama took office.  If the percentage of work-aged women looking for employment today were as high as it was when President Obama took office, the real unemployment rate among women would be 11 percent rather than 8.2 percent.

According to the Census Bureau:

• There are 2.7 million more women without health insurance today than when President Obama took office.
• The latest data from the Census Bureau shows that there were 4.7 million single mother families living in poverty, more than ever before.

House Republicans have a plan to solve this employment crisis:  the House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators, which includes dozens of bipartisan bills that Senator Harry Reid is blocking in the Do-Nothing Democrat Senate.  This plan is focused on protecting taxpayers and helping small businesses grow the economy and create more and better paying jobs for all Americans struggling during the worst employment crisis since the Great Depression.  

Charge and Response

Charge:  If Republicans want to help women, then they would address the wage gap between men and women.  Republicans didn’t support the first proposal signed into law by this administration, the “Fair Pay Act,” also known as the Lilly Ledbetter Act, to address this inadequacy. 

Response:  Republicans are opposed to discrimination inside and outside of the workplace – period.  Unfortunately for Democrat operatives, research show that there are many reasons that women, on average, are paid less than men, and those reasons are driven by decisions that women make for themselves.  For instance, studies show that women generally work fewer hours than their male counterparts and leave the workforce to start or raise families.    

Since Democrats approved the President’s crowning achievement for women in the workforce, the Lilly Ledbetter Act, four million more women are out of work.  The House Republican Plan for Job Creators will help these four million women get back to work, by reducing taxation, regulation and litigation so American businesses can create more and larger paychecks for American workers – women and men.

Charge:  Republicans have been making a concerted effort to change policy regarding health care, contraception, and women’s reproductive rights. 

Response:  Republicans want to ensure that Americans have access to affordable, quality health care and that the government does not force medical decisions on people in a way that violates their religious freedom.   That’s why we are focused on repealing the health care law that is now more unpopular with women than with men.  The President’s health care law takes decision making power away from American women and families, and replaces their good judgment with that of government bureaucrats and accountants.  We can – and should – do better.

Charge:  There have been more anti-abortion measures introduced the last two years than in total since Roe vs. Wade.

Response: Republicans generally believe that we should do what we can to make abortion rarer in American.  We oppose the use of taxpayer money to pay for abortions.  The President said that no taxpayer funds would be used to pay for abortions in his health care law, however, it is clear they will be used to do so.  Since the number of unemployed single women has skyrocketed by 20 percent since the President was sworn into office, it is no surprise that Democrats are trying to divide the nation by gender because their economic policies have failed and have made the economy worse. 

Charge:  The Republican budget cuts funding for daycare and education services that women rely on. 

Response: The House Republican budget modernizes government’s benefits for those in need by converting Washington’s share of spending on safety net programs into block grants to the states – just like the government did with welfare in the late 1990s.  This ensures that spending on safety net programs is done effectively and in a way that protects taxpayers from Washington’s wasteful spending habits.

Women Are Bearing the Brunt of the President's Failed Policies
	Total Number of Employed Americans	Total Number of Employed Women
When President Obama Took Office	133.561 million	66.122 million
Today	132.989 million	65.555 million
Change	Down 572,000	Down 567,000

 

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• Women Hurting in the Obama Economy: Part II