Loading ...Oberstar: Recovery Bill Will Generate Minnesota Jobs
Washington DC – An analysis of the economic recovery bill before Congress concludes the legislation could create or save thousands of jobs in Minnesota and keep unemployment down. The study of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was performed by Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com. Zandi was an economic advisor to former presidential candidate John McCain.
“The House stimulus plan will not reverse the current recession, but it will provide a vital boost to the flagging economy,” Zandi writes in the report. “With the stimulus, there will be 4 million more jobs and the jobless rate will be more than 2 percentage points lower by the end of 2010 than without any fiscal stimulus. Without stimulus, unemployment will rise well into the double digits by this time next year, and the economy will not return to full employment until 2014.”
The report goes on to state that the recovery package will create or save 91,900 jobs in Minnesota by 2010 and 128,140 jobs by 2012. That could hold down unemployment rates in the state by 1.8 percent in 2010 and 2.8 percent in 2012.
Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar has been pushing for recovery legislation to create new jobs since last fall. In September the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which Oberstar chairs, brought an economic stimulus bill to the House floor where it won passage. However, that legislation died in the Senate after President Bush threatened a veto. Oberstar was able to incorporate many of the provisions from that bill into the recovery legislation now before Congress.
“The Moody’s report highlights how important it is to take bold action to deal with the recession before it becomes too severe,” said Oberstar. “You must create jobs that pay a living wage to generate wealth and prosperity – this legislation does that. Building roads and bridges, fixing schools and educating young people not only generates employment in the short term, it lays the foundation of a strong economy in the long term.”
(From Office of Jim Oberstar)