Steve Benen charts job growth in the public and private sectors, comparing the terms of George W. Bush and President Obama: (emphasis below is mine)
“So far in 2012, from January to July, the overall economy has added 1.06 million jobs, while the private sector has added 1.12 million jobs. Note that in every year of the Obama presidency, the private sector outpaced the overall economy, while in every year under Bush, that notorious Marxist, the private sector trailed the overall job market.
“And while job growth has been underwhelming in 2012, the year to date — which, again, only includes seven months — has outpaced the first three years of the Bush presidency combined. Indeed, we’ve seen more jobs created since January than in five of the eight years Bush was in office.
“What’s more, the chart should also make it obvious that economic conditions have vastly improved since 2009, when Obama took office… Mitt Romney recently said the first 6 to 12 months shouldn’t be held against a new president. If that’s true, Obama has created 3.88 million jobs overall, and 4.44 million private-sector jobs.”
What about this private-sector vs. public-sector jobs situation? Think Progress summarizes (America has hundreds of thousands fewer teachers than it had 3 years ago):
“The Hamilton Project examined government data and found that among those public sector cuts, teachers, police officers, and emergency first responders have been hit especially hard. From 2009 to 2011, the country lost 220,000 teaching jobs, and the number of emergency responders dropped by more than 40 percent, as the chart below shows:
“[...] While the government typically adds jobs during recessions to bolster economic recoveries, it has not done so this time. This hurts the economy in the short-term — the nation’s unemployment rate would be a full point lower without the public sector cuts — but it also has perilous consequences for the future…
“Worse yet, the problem created by these job losses is unnecessary. Republicans’ “completely misguided” pursuit of deficit reduction at all costs, even as the nation’s borrowing costs reach record lows, has prevented the government from making the investments it needs to protect the jobs of teachers, police officers, and first-responders. Those investments wouldn’t just keep teachers in the classroom and first responders on the job, but would also help improve the nation’s overall recovery.”
The Republican Party would gladly watch the country and our economy burn to the ground for their political ideology. Public-sector employment is one of the foundations of America’s middle class.
