While Jim Renacci has created over 1,500 jobs and employed over 2,500 Ohioans throughout his career as s small business owner, John Boccieri’s brief career in Congress has been defined by crippling job losses at the hands of the failed Obama-Pelosi economic agenda that John Boccieri has steadfastly supported. Recently, John Boccieri took the House floor to declare his strong support for the Obama-Pelosi economic plan, declaring that our economy is “on the right track” and that he sees “real signs of economic life and prosperity” throughout the 16th district.
Jobs
Here are the straight facts about what John Boccieri’s votes and what his preferred economic plan has done to our economy:
- Since John Boccieri was elected to Congress, the unemployment rate in the 16th district has nearly doubled—and exceeds 14% in some areas.
- More than 200,000 Ohioans have lost their jobs under the policies John Boccieri has supported in Congress.
- Over 46% of unemployed Americans have been out of work for more than six months, the highest long-term unemployment rate ever recorded.
- In June of 2010 alone, over 125,000 Americans lost their jobs—a distressing sign that our country is heading into a “double-dip” recession.
- In July of 2009, John Boccieri voted in favor of the job-killing Cap & Trade national energy tax that would wipe tens of thousands of jobs in northeast Ohio and effectively bankrupt sectors of the domestic energy industry.
- After initially voting against the bill, John Boccieri flip-flopped on ObamaCare and cast a deciding vote to pass the trillion legislation that will not only increase the cost of insurance premiums on families, but will kill countless jobs as small business struggle to make ends meet in light of higher health care costs.
- Boccieri supports allowing the 2001 & 2003 tax cuts expire, which would not only amount to a massive tax increase on working families but would also increase capital gains taxes by 33%, drying up much needed investment income to help grow the economy and create jobs.
- Boccieri voted to expand the use of TARP dollars to fund a federal takeover of the auto industry, a takeover that resulted in the closure of hundreds of American-owned auto dealerships and potentially wiped “tens of thousands of jobs” according to the Inspector General’s office.
Labor
In addition to his support for job-killing taxes that are shipping American jobs oversees and tying the hands of small business owners, John Boccieri also co-sponsored legislation that would eliminate workers rights to a secret ballot in union elections. The secret ballot is the cornerstone of the American democracy, however in 2009 John Boccieri made clear that he places a higher value on campaign contributions from union bosses that line his campaign coffers than he does on the rights American workers.
Not surprisingly, union bosses have returned to the favor to Boccieri by steering nearly $500,000 in campaign contributions his way in the past two years.