On the recordMarch 9, 2011
But I did not want the day to end without a reminder of the concern that H.R. 1 and the significant, serious cuts it imposes will produce significant, serious job losses. That is not something being manufactured on our side of the aisle. It comes from careful analysis from very neutral forums. Many people will have seen this graphic already. Chairman Bernanke of the Federal Reserve is one of the observers who has looked at the bill and said it will cut significant jobs. I believe his testimony was that it was not trivial, that it would be hundreds of thousands of jobs. Economist Mark Zandi has advised Republicans and Democrats. He is a neutral, independent economist. He has calculated that the GOP plan would cost 700,000 jobs. When we consider the good news that we have just heard of job growth in the past reporting period, which was, I believe, around 170,000 jobs--less than 200 anyway--the idea of wiping out 700,000 jobs acquires a real scale and a real significance. Finally, at the bottom is Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs is no great friend of the Democratic Party. It is a group of financial advisers and investors who look at data as dispassionately as possible, because if they are wrong, they don't make money. Goldman Sachs has estimated that the spending cuts will hurt economic growth.
