Thomas Daschle: “simply to summarize the article, it says not only are we suffering month-to-month joblessness at levels we have not seen…”

“simply to summarize the article, it says not only are we suffering month-to-month joblessness at levels we have not seen in 8 years, but if you look at the joblessness in the context of the economy over the last several decades, this is one of the most severe slumps we have seen in decades. So we have both an immediate context and a long-term context. In both of those contexts, as the Wall Street Journal article points out, this matter is of great consequence. Mr. President, 2.3 million jobs, now, in the last 24 months have been lost. What the article simply states is that, while it is a serious immediate concern, we have to be very concerned about the long-term repercussions of this joblessness. I thought it was one of the better articles I had seen in recent times with regard to the economic dilemma we face as we deal with the stimulus package later this month.”