GDP Report: White House, Boehner Offer Dueling Responses
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VStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The White House says today’s GDP numbers show the economy is moving in the right direction, but that “additional growth is needed” to replace the jobs lost in the recession.
Today’s report, the White House notes, shows the economy posted its twelfth straight quarter of positive growth. “Over the last three years, the economy has expanded by 6.7 percent overall, and the private components of GDP have grown by 9.9 percent,” Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Alan Krueger writes in a White House blog.
“To strengthen economic growth and increase job creation, President Obama has proposed to Congress a plan that would help State and local governments retain and hire teachers and first responders, assist the construction sector and economy of tomorrow by rebuilding and modernizing our Nation’s infrastructure, and would give small businesses tax cuts to encourage them to increase payroll,” Krueger writes. “President Obama also proposed extending tax cuts to protect middle class families and virtually every small business owner from getting a tax increase at the beginning of next year.”
Republicans argue that raising taxes — even on wealthier Americans — will further slow growth.
“Today’s GDP report is a troubling sign for the future of our economy, and it underscores the need to stop all of the looming tax hikes that will weaken it further,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement. “In 2010, when economic growth was more robust than it is today, President Obama said stopping the looming tax hikes was necessary to ‘help the economy.’ Now, he is inexplicably determined to raise taxes on small businesses, and destroy more than 700,000 American jobs, when many are struggling to survive this weak economy.”
Boehner continued, “Next week, the House will vote to stop President Obama’s small business tax hike while laying the groundwork for pro-growth tax reform that will help employers keep jobs in America, and bring some jobs back to America that have gone overseas. If the president is serious about helping rebuild this economy, he will work with Republicans to stop these tax hikes and reform the tax code to create a better environment for private-sector job creation.”
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