Statistics and figures are not the Democrats’ friends. While they push to extend unemployment benefits yet again to the long-term unemployed, they fail to grasp that it is their own policies that are keeping these people unemployed. From the almost trillion dollar shovel-ready job stimulus that was thrust upon this country by Democrats ( including New Hampshire’s own Senator Shaheen and Representative Carol Shea-Porter) that failed to being insane enough to believe unemployment benefits create jobs, Democrats have failed on every level to produce (If unemployment benefits actually created jobs, our economy would be booming because we’ve had such long term unemployment). There are millions of people who are unemployed, under-employed, jumped ship to disability insurance or are just not working at all because they have given up and it’s thanks to Democrat policies that are killing jobs and hurting the economy.

Some facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• The Labor Force Participation Rate is only 63% – Down from 65.7% when President Obama took office In 2009. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/6/14)
• There are 762,000 Discouraged Workers in the U.S. who, despite wanting a job, are not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/6/14)
• There were 734,000 Discouraged Workers when Obama took office in January 2009. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/6/14)
• There Are 7.7 Million Americans who are currently working part-time only because they cannot find full-time employment. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
• 27% of Unemployed Americans who have been unemployed for a year or more – Up From 11% when Obama took office in 2009. (BLS, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
• The “Real” Unemployment Rate, including those who have given up looking for work or are involuntarily working part-time is 11% in New Hampshire alone! (BLS, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
• The Real Unemployment Rate in New Hampshire Was 8.7% when Shaheen took office in 2009. (BLS, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)

Obama, Senator Shaheen and Carol Shea-Porter claim they care about workers, jobs and the economy yet it is policies they have put into place that have continued the long cycle of unemployment across the U.S. and in New Hampshire. Today they are pushing to extend unemployment benefits to the tune of $26 billion. Rather than address the issues that cause long-term unemployment, they continue to create it. Democrats have had 6 years to turn the economy around and they haven’t. Neither Obama, Shaheen nor Shea-Porter will ever admit failure but the unemployment signs in this country have certainly proven exactly that.

Originally posted here: http://www.examiner.com/article/democrats-are-the-reason-for-the-long-term-unemployment