Speaker of the House John Boehner visited the American Enterprise Institute on Thursday to give a speech on the economy. While speaking at the think tank, Boehner proved to the American people just how out of touch he was with reality.
In the question and answer portion of his appearance, Speaker Boehner renewed his commitment to increasing the flow of foreign workers into the US workforce and passing amnesty:
"Immigration reform will help our economy, but you’ve got to secure the border first. We’ve got a mess and everyone knows we’ve got a mess. Our legal system is broken, our border isn’t secure, and we’ve got the problem of those who are here without documents. It needs to be fixed. we’re a nation of immigrants, the sooner we do it, the better off the country would be."
During that same Q&A, Boehner continued to show his true colors:
"This idea that has been born, maybe out of the economy over the last couple years, that you know, I really don't have to work. I don't really want to do this. I think I'd rather just sit around. This is a very sick idea for our country."
I think it is time for a reality check, Mr. Speaker.
The percentage of teens who were employed in 2000 was 45% (ages 16-19). Since 2000, Washington has imported a half-million low skilled workers each year to work in landscaping, restaurants, and construction. This year, only 25.8% of teens will have a job.
Those teens are also having to compete with recent college graduates, nearly half of whom work in jobs that don’t require a Bachelor’s Degree.
And overall, the middle class is being squeezed by stagnant wages, we have a historically low labor force participation rate, and 18 million American workers cannot find a full time job.
Boehner has no right or justification to imply that the low labor-participation rate indicates Americans don't want to work while government reports show 18 million Americans of every educational level say they want a full-time job but can't find one.
Speaker Boehner’s lack of compassion for American workers and sheer lack of understanding of supply and demand economics is unbelievable and indefensible.
MELANIE OUBRE IS MANAGER, LOCAL ACTIVISM FOR NUMBERSUSA
