The left is not going to enjoy the reality behind January’s 257,000 jobs created figure. While they are quick to point out that job creation is solely the result of the president’s polices, it is not the case. It was only 14 months ago that Democrats were locked in a battle with the House GOP over a bill to extend jobless benefits for the chronically unemployed.
Both President Obama and his party made the point that the infusion of jobless benefits was being spent on goods and services in the economy. In this respect, they were an economic stimulus program. The argument was that if the benefits were allowed to expire for people who had been collecting them for 73 weeks (~1.5 years), the loss of economic activity would lead to more companies putting people out of work.
Estimates were that as many as 300,000 jobs would be lost due to the expiration of jobless benefits. House Speaker John Boehner and GOP conservatives saw the matter differently. They argued that long-term jobless benefits had become an incentive for people not to work. As such, they withheld their labor from the economy. Conservatives argued that if the jobless benefits were allowed to expire, many people would return to the work pool as producers. They would pay taxes, earn more income than jobless benefits pay, spend more money, and lead to further job creation.
Since the time that jobless benefits expired, estimates are that two million jobs have been created. Just how significant is that number? It accounts for virtually all the net jobs created in the Obama economy over the past 14 months. As the say goes, “give credit where credit is due”. The strong job numbers are almost entirely of the GOP’s making.