R i g h t a r d i a: Huff Po: GOP budget will slash 700,000 jobs by 2012

Monday, February 28, 2011

Huff Po: GOP budget will slash 700,000 jobs by 2012

WASHINGTON -- Two weeks after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) dismissed a question about the possibility of the lower chamber's spending bill killing government jobs with the words "so be it,"

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) offered similar sentiments.

The Republican plan to cut $61 billion from current spending levels could take a heavy toll on employment.

It could destroy 700,000 jobs by 2012, according to an independent economic analysis by Mark Zandi of Moody's Analytics. The study, released on Monday, predicted that the GOP bill would slow economic growth by 0.5 percentage points this year.

This may be the GOP plan: to derail the Obama recovery by slashing the budget and then try to blame the unemployment on Obama in the next election.

Mark Zandi, Chief Economistof Moody's Analytics

The House Republican plan to cut about $61 billion from the federal budget in the next seven months. could cost about 700,000 jobs through 2012, according to a new report from Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.

Republicans argue that Zandi -- an advocate of the Democrats' 2009 economic stimulus package -- cannot be trusted as an objective economist.

Zandi has advised both Democrats and Republicans. He was an Republican advisor to Sen. John McCain during his 2008 presidential bid. Zandi was also famous for a chart that showed the multiplier effect of government incentives. His chart suggested that tax cuts are one of the least effective ways to stimulate the economy.