[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
United States News Title: Bush: People Should Work More Hours To Grow Economy The Republican presidential candidate was conducting a recorded interview with New Hampshire’s The Union-Leader and was answering a question about his tax plan, which he used as an opportunity to state his goals for economic growth. Democratic operatives are all over Jeb Bush for declaring in an interview that Americans need to “work longer hours” for substantial economic growth to return. The Republican presidential candidate was conducting a recorded interview with New Hampshire’s The Union-Leader and was answering a question about his tax plan, which he used as an opportunity to state his goals for economic growth. “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see,” Bush said. “Which means we have to be a lot more productive, workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours and, through their productivity, gain more income for their families. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of this rut that we’re in.” According to OECD data, U.S. workers average 1789 hours of work per year, above the global average for developed countries. Among those with full-time jobs the average work week is 47 hours, according to polling by Gallup, while for part-time workers the average is about 26 hours per week. Democratic operatives are all over Jeb Bush for declaring in an interview that Americans need to “work longer hours” for substantial economic growth to return. The Republican presidential candidate was conducting a recorded interview with New Hampshire’s The Union-Leader and was answering a question about his tax plan, which he used as an opportunity to state his goals for economic growth. “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see,” Bush said. “Which means we have to be a lot more productive, workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours and, through their productivity, gain more income for their families. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of this rut that we’re in.” According to OECD data, U.S. workers average 1789 hours of work per year, above the global average for developed countries. Among those with full-time jobs the average work week is 47 hours, according to polling by Gallup, while for part-time workers the average is about 26 hours per week. According to the Department of Labor, about 6.5 million Americans are stuck in part-time rather than full-time jobs due to economic conditions. An aide told the AP that Bush’s intent was to highlight how many Americans have been working less than they want to due to President Obama’s policies. “Under President Obama, we have the lowest workforce participation rate since 1977, and too many Americans are falling behind,” the statement said. “Only Washington Democrats could be out-of-touch enough to criticize giving more Americans the ability to work, earn a paycheck, and make ends meet.” The average hours worked of part-time workers has fallen sharply from just 15 years ago, something critics claim is partly due to Obamacare classifying a 30-hour job as “full time.” (RELATED: Obamacare’s Biggest Impacts: Americans Losing Hours, Losing Coverage) Update: A transcript of the event forwarded to The Daily Caller News Foundation by a Bush campaign spokeswoman shows that Bush clarified his comments to New Hampshire reporters Wednesday night. When asked whether working “more hours” meant more Americans getting full-time work, Bush replied people needed to be “given the opportunity to work.” “Incomes need to grow,” Bush said. “It’s not going to grow in an environment where the costs of doing business are so extraordinarily high here… If anyone is celebrating this anemic recovery, then they are totally out of touch. The simple fact is people are really struggling. So giving people a chance to work longer hours has got to be part of the answer. If not, you are going to see people lose hope. And that’s where we are today.” Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 17.
#5. To: buckeroo (#0)
What is most disappointing here is Bush's total lack of ideas. Rather than asking the 50% who do work to work longer hours, unemployed people should be returned to work instead of getting endless checks and "food stamps". And the retirement age should be raised, say, a couple months per year until the minimum age is 65. Or 67. Social Security was never intended to be a retirement plan lasting 20 years or more for most retirees. It was predicated on half of all payees dying before retirement and the majority who did retire collected 5-10 years on average. To see real economic improvement, you have to raise the employment rate and the retirement age. I would give bonus points to any pol who just admits this fundamental but unpopular fact.
Yet I and my employers on my behalf (in lieu of paying higher wagers to me) paid more into the SS system than I will ever get got, even if I live to 100.
Statistically, you will break even on SS but consume 3 times as much Medicare/Medicaid as you ever paid into it.
Document this. I will bet that you are wrong about on both counts.
There are no replies to Comment # 17. End Trace Mode for Comment # 17.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|