ALG raps Reid

Reid Prioritizes Gov't Sector Over Private Sector, ALG Responds

October 19, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement responding to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's who recently said "it's very clear that private sector jobs are doing just fine. It's the public sector jobs where we've lost huge numbers, and that's what this legislation's all about" while promoting his plan to bail out states with another $35 billion from the federal government:

"It seems Harry Reid is forgetting who it is that pays for all these government jobs, and that is the private sector and individuals via taxation. Moreover, if he thinks losing 1.5 million private sector jobs since 2009 means the private sector is 'doing just fine,' he needs to get his head examined. While the national unemployment rate sits at 9.1 percent, the rate of workers unemployed in the government sector is only 4.7 percent.

"It is the private sector that has been getting crushed in the Obama-Reid economy. Meanwhile, it is the government sector that was protected by the Democrat-controlled Congress in 2009 and 2010.

"The fact is, since the housing bubble popped in 2007, states have been attempting to keep spending at unsustainably high levels, and for the past two years have been dependent on federal 'stimulus' monies. Bankrupt states like California, New York, Illinois, and others have gotten a combined $171 billion from Congress over the past two years to prop up public sector unions. These states refuse to get their fiscal houses in order, and that's what Reid's legislation is really about: kicking the can one more year from making the difficult decisions."