Jobs in all 50 states (hear that Republicans?)

[ProSense]

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 7:26 pm

Coast to coast and across party lines

If you don't think the nation's economic situation is dire, just ask the governors who are seeing firsthand the pain its causing in their state's economies.

That’s why this week, a group of 19 governors -- Democratic and Republican alike, from Oklahoma to Oregon and from Vermont to the Virgin Islands -- made a bold statement of bipartisan support for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with a letter addressed to the President.

"Families and businesses across the nation are hurting," read the letter, dated February 2, 2009. "Credit markets have seized up, which is affecting both business activity and consumer spending. Unemployment is rising sharply. While we all believe in the importance of free markets, we believe that the markets today need stimulating."

Governors Deval Patrick (D-MA), Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), Bill Ritter Jr. (D-CO), M. Jodi Rell (R-CT), Jack Markell (D-DE), Charlie Crist (R-FL), Pat Quinn (D-IL), Chester J. Culver (D-IA), Jennifer M. Granholm (D-MI), Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ), David A. Paterson (D-NY), Ted Strickland (D-OH), Brad Henry (D-OK), Theodore R. Kulongoski (D-OR), Edward G. Rendell (D - PA), James H. Douglas (R - VT), Timothy M. Kaine (D - VA), John deJongh Jr (D-VI), and Jim Doyle (D-WI) all signed the letter.

We’ve published the letter, complete with their signatures, here.

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 4:03 pm

Jobs in all 50 states

Economic adviser Brian Deese was part of the team that assembled an analysis of how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will create jobs in all 50 states. In a guest blog post, he explains.

You've probably heard a lot about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. And you may have heard the President or members of his economic team say that this plan will save or create 3 to 4 million jobs over the next two years. Maybe you wondered where that number comes from. Well, it's from http://otrans.3cdn.net/45593e8ecbd339d074_l3m6bt1te.pdf">a study by Christina Romer, the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist to the Vice-President. Their analysis has been confirmed by outside experts including the forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody's.

Jumpstarting job growth is the top priority of the Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. Construction jobs to rebuild our nation's crumbling infrastructure*....technology jobs to bring put medical records online and lower health care costs while reducing medical errors...engineering jobs to modernize federal buildings and save billions in annual energy costs...jobs equipping our schools and colleges so the country's best young minds have a place to grow...and jobs laying broadband lines so a business in rural America can compete with any other business in the world.

The plan will create jobs in all 50 states, in industries across the spectrum. Over 90% of the jobs created will be in the private sector. We put together a fact sheet to show you, state-by-state, just how many jobs the plan aims to create.

But no matter what state you live in, with 2.6 million jobs lost last year and our economic crisis deepening, we can't afford to delay any longer.

*Just a couple of weeks ago, the American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for America's Infrastructure issued an overall grade of D. From Katrina to the Minnesota bridge collapse, our nation's failure to take this infrastructure crisis seriously is blatant, and unacceptable. By making long overdue investments in our roads, bridges, transit, ports, and air security, this plan will put people back to work while making our nation safer and more prosperous in the future.