Obama Bain Capital Attacks Miss the Mark: Millennials Need a Jobs Plan, Not Finger-Pointing

Impact

The labor market continues to look grim for milliennials as graduating college students deal with unemployment and rising student loan debt. A recent data analysis by the Wall Street Journal showed a clear picture of the bleak job market that awaits law school graduates. According to the report, members of the law school class of 2011 had little better than a 50-50 shot of landing a job as a lawyer within nine months of receiving a degree. Only a dozen schools reported that 80% or more of graduates had found full-time, long-term legal jobs.

As these dismal numbers were being reported, President Obama was fundraising in Florida, where he continued to attack Mitt Romney for outsourcing jobs while he was CEO at Bain Capital. Obama has signaled that he is not backing away from the Bain issue despite warnings from other Democrats to drop it. He seems hell-bent on beating the dead horse of Romney’s past rather than focusing on his own future policies. With the graduating class of 2012 now having to compete with out of work graduates from 2011, 2010, 2009, and before, President Obama should be shouting his jobs plan from the rooftops.

Many speculate that Obama is willing to discuss anything but his economic record, and this may be true. But when it comes to jobs Obama has a better record than Romney and he should be pointing to that. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Obama saved or created 1.4 million to 3.3 million jobs with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more commonly known as the stimulus package.

This is way better than Romney’s dismal jobs record in Massachusetts. He created just plus 600 jobs even though  he had the advantage of not being in office during a national recession.. Compared to predecessors Paul Cellucci and William Weld, Romney’s job creation record is horrible.

President Obama should be touting the slogan, “At Least I Have a Plan.” According to Moody’s, Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act would create an additional 1.9 million jobs. That’s 1.9 million more than what would be created under Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan, which Romney has whole heartily backed. In fact Ryan’s plan would eliminate 4.1 million jobs according to the Economic Policy Institute.

To be fair, Romney has had that he would create over 11.5 million jobs in the first term of his administration. But he has not said how he plans to do such a thing.

He has developed a financial plan where he proposes to reduce marginal tax rates on business income earned by corporate and unincorporated businesses. This means, give tax breaks to corporations so that they have more profits and can hire more employees. But this plan is lacking backing from leading economists. In fact, Joseph Stiglitz, a former Clinton economic advisor, has said that it’s not a lack of cash that’s holding back unemployment but a lack of demand that’s really impeding it.

With unemployment among college graduates younger than 25 averaging 9.4% over the previous year, can millennials really afford to vote for a candidate without a plan? This is the question that President Obama should be asking instead of re-reminding us that Romney outsourced jobs, which economists generally say is good for the overall economy. Instead, remind us that college graduates who enter the labor market during a severe downturn experience reduced earnings and greater instability for over 10 years. Instead, remind us that you have a plan!