Rep. Lankford on unemployment

Congressman James Lankford (R-OK), on the May unemployment report released Friday said, “[The] report shows that our stagnant economy continues to suffer under the weight of an over-sized government.  The notion that we can spend, regulate and tax our way to prosperity is as much a flawed idea today as it was two years ago." 

"When will the Obama Administration learn that you cannot grow the economy while suppressing community banking, energy production, health care, international trade, insurance and thousands of other private industries?

“President Obama claimed that the stimulus was a success because of the jobs that were ‘saved.’ But it has been more than two years since the plan was enacted, and the time as long since passed to claim that maintaining the size of government is a successful economic policy. To continue to prop up the public sector as a replacement for a lack of private sector job growth only covers up the problem and is not a sustainable path back to a robust economy.  

“Anemic employment numbers month after month is not satisfactory for the many millions of Americans looking for a job. We can only cure this problem and put people back to work by enabling the private sector, which is the true driver of economic growth. This administration should incentivize businesses not block their progress.”