No issue carries greater weight for our future than jobs – good jobs. 157,000 net new jobs in January is simply not enough. We cannot sit by as austerity leaves far too many Americans who are ready to work abandoned by an under-performing job market.
Make no mistake: we have made great strides and are now heading in the right direction. President Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have pressed for much needed reforms and policies to encourage growth. But we cannot fix our broken economy and labor market until we overcome senseless fiscal austerity policies that continue to choke off job creation.

First and foremost, we must protect Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare from benefit cuts. Washington political insiders don’t seem to understand what every working American does: our retirees are not the problem. Social Security is not the problem. It’s the solution. Attempts to cut its benefits are not necessary or right and working people will not stand for it. We cannot and should not resolve misguided deficit fears by putting the burden on the most vulnerable and families who have already sacrificed enough. Any further deficit reduction should come from closing loopholes for Wall Street and the richest 2 percent, not from budget cuts that hurt the 98 percent.
The American people gave President Obama, not Republicans, four more years to solve our problems and put our country back on track. We voted for an urgent focus on investment that creates jobs to move us forward, not irrational cuts that hold us back. But President Obama can’t do it alone. The path to strengthen economic security and democracy must start today.

Contact: Josh Goldstein (202) 637-5018