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Romney Campaign Press Release - President Obama's Broken Promises On Jobs

May 04, 2012

"President Obama has broken countless promises during his time in office - but none more important than his promise to help create jobs and get our economy moving again. From green jobs that never materialized to an unemployment rate that has remained above 8% for thirty-nine straight months, President Obama's rhetoric simply doesn't match with his failed economic record." -Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Candidate Obama Promised To Create Millions Of New Green Jobs - But His Energy Loans Have Resulted In Bankruptcies And Layoffs:

Candidate Obama, On Green Energy Investments: "An Investment That Will Lead To New Industries And Five Million New Jobs That Pay Well And Can't Ever Be Outsourced." OBAMA: "And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, Denver, CO, 8/28/08)

The Obama Administration Loaned More Than Half A Billion Dollars To Solyndra, Which Went Bankrupt And Laid Off 1,100 Workers. "In a blow to the Obama administration's efforts to create green jobs, solar-cell maker Solyndra announced Wednesday that it will close its remaining Fremont factory, lay off its 1,100 employees and file for bankruptcy.  The news marked an abrupt end for a company once considered among the most innovative in a fast-changing industry. The bankruptcy also represents a high-profile failure for a federal stimulus program that gives loan guarantees to green-tech manufacturers. Solyndra was the first company to win one of the guarantees, receiving $535 million in 2009 to build its second factory in Fremont less than a mile from the company's original plant." (David R. Baker and Carolyn Said, "Solyndra Closes Fremont Plant - Stimulus Hopes Dim," San Francisco Chronicle, 9/1/11)

Of The First 12 Obama Administration Loan Guarantees, "Two Firms Filed For Bankruptcy, A Third Has Faced Layoffs And A Fourth Deal Never Closed." "The bonuses and bankruptcies come against a growing wave of trouble for companies financed with Energy Department dollars. Of the first 12 loan guarantees the department announced, for instance, two firms filed for bankruptcy, a third has faced layoffs and a fourth deal never closed."  (Ronnie Greene and Matthew Mosk, "Green Firms Get Fed Cash, Give Execs Bonuses, Fail," ABC News, 3/6/12)

"The Millions Of 'Green Jobs' Obama Promised Have Been Slow To Sprout..." "But the millions of 'green jobs' Obama promised have been slow to sprout, disappointing many who had hoped that the $90 billion earmarked for clean-energy efforts in the recession-fighting federal stimulus package would ease unemployment - still above 8 percent in March." (Andy Sullivan, "Analysis: Obama's 'Green Jobs' Have Been Slow To Sprout," Reuters, 4/13/12)

Wind Energy "Has Shed 10,000 Jobs Since 2009." "The wind industry, for example, has shed 10,000 jobs since 2009 even as the energy capacity of wind farms has nearly doubled, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry has added 75,000 jobs since Obama took office, according to Labor Department statistics." (Andy Sullivan, "Analysis: Obama's 'Green Jobs' Have Been Slow To Sprout," Reuters, 4/13/12)

The New York Times Headline: "Number Of Green Jobs Fails To Live Up To Promises" (Aaron Glantz, "Number Of Green Jobs Fails To Live Up To Promises," The New York Times, 8/18/11)

President-Elect Obama's Advisors Promised To Keep Unemployment Below 8% - But Unemployment Has Exceeded That Rate Every Month Since He Took Office:

President-Elect Obama's Advisors Promised Their Trillion-Dollar Stimulus Package Would Keep Unemployment Below Eight Percent. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, "The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan," 1/9/09)

The National Unemployment Rate Has Been Above 8% Since February 2009 - A Record Thirty-Nine Month Span. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 5/4/12)

"The Congressional Budget Office Is Projecting Unemployment Of More Than 8% Throughout This Election Year And Into 2014." (David Jackson, "CBO Projects 8%-Plus Unemployment Into 2014," USA Today, 2/16/12)

President Obama Promised His Stimulus Would Create And Save Millions Of Jobs - But Even He Has Admitted Those Shovel-Ready Jobs Did Not Deliver As Promised:

President Obama, On His Stimulus Spending: "Out The Door Immediately And Go Directly To Job-Creation, Generating Or Saving Three To Four Million New Jobs." OBAMA: "And that is why I hope to sign an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan into law in the next few weeks. Most of the money we're investing as part of this plan will get out the door immediately and go directly to job-creation, generating or saving three to four million new jobs."  (President Barack Obama, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 1/28/09)

  • President Obama, In 2009: "We Are Seeing Shovels Hit The Ground."  OBAMA: "Because of Joe, and because of all the governors and mayors, county and city officials who are helping implement this plan, I can say that 14 days after I signed our Recovery Act into law, we are seeing shovels hit the ground." (President Barack Obama, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 3/3/09)

President Obama, In 2011: "Shovel-Ready Was Not As Shovel-Ready As We Expected." "Remember 'shovel-ready projects.' Those were construction projects in the 2009 stimulus bill that were supposed to get moving right away ... 'Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected,' Obama said." (David Jackson, "Obama Jokes About 'Shovel-Ready Projects'," USA Today, 6/13/11)

Vice President Biden's "Characteristically Blunt Assessment" Of The Stimulus: "We Know Some Of This Money Is Going To Be Wasted." "U.S. Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged on Tuesday that some waste is inevitable in the spending of a $787 billion economic stimulus package, in a characteristically blunt assessment. 'We know some of this money is going to be wasted,' Biden said during a roundtable discussion in New York with business leaders aimed at promoting the two-year stimulus plan." ("Biden Says Some Waste Inevitable Part Of Stimulus," Reuters, 6/3/09)

During President Obama's Time In Office, The Nation Has Lost 572,000 Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Increased To 8.1%. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 5/4/12)

  • Nearly Twenty-Three Million Americans Are Unemployed, Underemployed, Or Have Stopped Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 5/4/12)

"The Term 'Shovel Ready' Has Become An Inadvertent Badge Of Government Bureaucracy." (Kendra Marr, "'Shovel Ready' Jobs Could Take Time," Politico, 9/26/11)

The Associated Press Found That The Stimulus' Shovel-Ready Infrastructure Spending "Had No Effect On Local Unemployment." "A January 2010 Associated Press analysis of Recovery Act spending on roads and bridges 'had no effect on local unemployment and only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry,' regardless of how many dollars lawmakers threw at the various projects." (Devin Dwyer, "Shovel-Ready, Take II: Would Obama Infrastructure Plan Create Jobs Now," ABC News, 9/8/11)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - President Obama's Broken Promises On Jobs Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/301287

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