Romney's lousy record on job creation in Massachusetts
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| What's up with the hard questions? |
This is what Wallace asked Ryan:
You know, it's not just a question of vision, it's also a question of record because these men have served in office and have records in office. So, let's take a look at that.
Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts for four years, Congressman Ryan. And during that time, Massachusetts ranked 47th of the 50 states in job creation. The only reason the unemployment rate went down [was] because so many people left the work force -- more than any other state in the country except Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Is that a record to be proud of?
As Steve Benen at the Maddow Blog added:
Ryan mumbled something after that, but had very little with which to respond.
Unlike Cory Booker, I'm pretty comfortable criticizing Romney's record of leveraged buyouts and mass layoffs. When we get tired of that, I suggest we look at Romney's record as Governor, his only political experience.
As Jon Huntsman, current Romney endorser, said repeatedly throughout the nomination campaign: "The reality is Mitt Romney's record on job creation was abysmal by any standard."
The Republicans' entire campaign narrative is based on their claim that their guy knows how to create jobs. The facts would suggest otherwise.
(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)
When Ryan pushed back and said the unemployment rate in Massachusetts went down during Romney's one term, Wallace again reminded him, "If I may, sir, again over the four years, 47th in job creation and unemployment rate went down because so many people were leaving the state."
Ryan mumbled something after that, but had very little with which to respond.
Unlike Cory Booker, I'm pretty comfortable criticizing Romney's record of leveraged buyouts and mass layoffs. When we get tired of that, I suggest we look at Romney's record as Governor, his only political experience.
As Jon Huntsman, current Romney endorser, said repeatedly throughout the nomination campaign: "The reality is Mitt Romney's record on job creation was abysmal by any standard."
The Republicans' entire campaign narrative is based on their claim that their guy knows how to create jobs. The facts would suggest otherwise.
(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)
Labels: 2012 election, Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Republicans
posted by Richard K. Barry at
1:19 PM
1 Comments:
Although political activists like to claim that Massachusettes ranked 47th in the nation for job creation during the four years Romeny was governor, that figure is false. According to the W.P. Carey School of Business at the University of AZ (http://wpcarey.asu.edu/bluechip/jobgrowth/secure_states.cfm), when Romney was sworn-in as governor in January 2003 Massachusetts was DEAD LAST -- #50 -- out of all the states in job creation. When he left in January 2007 it ranked 38th. Four months later, April 2007, Massachusetts ranked at 29th. So the truth is that Romney took a state that had been driven down to 50th in job creation under Democrat leadership and raised it to 38th and on its way to 29th in just 4 years. That is an astounding accomplishment.
The National Review says Romney’s jobs record was even better than that. “Between January 2003 and December 2006, Massachusetts was one of seventeen states to accelerate its job growth every year (creating more jobs each year than were created the year before), and one of only two states to accelerate its job growth by at least 20,000 jobs each year. Massachusetts was one of the top ten most-improved states (seventh overall) in terms of job creation, going from 49th in the nation in the first year of the Romney Administration to 36th in the nation in the last year.” NationalReview.com “Romney’s Jobs Record” (June 21, 2011)
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