Monday, March 14, 2011

Conyers says Obama needs to help Detroit

Speaking to the National Press Club, U.S. Rep. John Conyers openly criticized President Obama for not being pro-active enough on job creation in Detroit. The octogenarian lawmaker asserts his district, situated mostly in the city, is suffering from a 1930s style depression. Conyers says Detroit has an unemployment of 38%.

March 14, The Detroit News: The auto industry won't create enough jobs to fill all the gaps, said Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
"With the auto industry decimated, we're not likely to get those jobs back in that industry. So the government has to come in and do the hiring," Conyers said. "Without that, Obama's going to have a difficult time, because creating jobs is the last economic indicator that improves when you are coming out of a deep recession. It's a big problem. But I don't think he's tackling jobs the way I'd like to see him tackle it."
Conyers has introduced legislation to boost government hiring to combat unemployment.

Conyers has every right to ask, or even is obliged to demand the President to help his battered district. However, his proposed legislation has little chance of moving forward in the GOP controlled U.S. House.

Today's announcement begs to question, where was Conyers during the first two years of the Obama Administration? As a senior lawmaker (he was first elected in 1964), he had the bully pulpit to bring attention to Detroit. The unemployment rates were roughly the same in 2009 as in 2011.

If a legislator is measured by how well his district is doing, where does Rep. Conyers stand? Will he resign or run again? It's a solid Democratic district any challengers will have to come from within the party.

Ask residents of the 14th district if things are better now than in 1964, you'll get some interesting answers.

No comments:

Post a Comment