Unemployment Drops, Economy Remains Strong | News | Congressman Ed Whitfield

News | Congressman Ed Whitfield | United States Representative

Unemployment Drops, Economy Remains Strong WASHINGTON, November 3 - U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield on Friday issued the following statement on the state of the U.S. economy:

"The latest economic reports should come as welcome news to all Americans. For three consecutive years, the economy has grown at a robust average of 4 percent. In addition, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently closed above 12000.00, the highest recorded point in American history.

At the same time, new jobs are being created in this growing economy. According to Department of Labor, 92,000 jobs were created in October, and upward revisions for August and September added an additional 139,000 jobs for a total of more than 6.8 million new jobs since August 2003. The unemployment rate also fell from 4.6 percent to 4.4 percent. That is the lowest unemployment rate since April 2001, and lower than the average of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. In spite of corporate scandals, the ongoing war on terrorism, and the worst natural disaster ever to hit the U.S., the American economy has remained remarkably resilient and headed toward another strong year in 2007.

Republican tax policies have helped fuel this growth. Since 2003, Republicans have reduced taxes each and every year for American families. Weve enacted reductions in the personal income tax, provided marriage penalty relief, cut taxes on capital gains, and voted to eliminate the death tax once and for all. These tax cuts are allowing Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money instead of handing it over to the government.

Democrats in Congress clearly have different ideas. U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York, the Democrats top tax writer in Congress, recently said that he cannot think of one tax reduction enacted over the past six years that should be renewed. Not one. That is exactly the sort of dangerous position that will take more money away from American families and weaken our economy in years to come.

When it comes to providing tax relief and keeping our economy strong and growing, there is a clear difference between Republicans and Capitol Hill Democrats."

Back to headlines