Contact:          Danielle Plogmann                                                     May 21, 2010

                        319.290.4185

One Year After I-JOBS Signature, Unemployment Still Rising

Strawn: How much more evidence does Culver need?

 DES MOINES – The Republican Party of Iowa today points to the latest unemployment increase as another sign that Governor Chet Culver’s signature I-JOBS program has failed Iowans. Unemployment increased to 6.9% in April 2010. The latest increase follows a trend of climbing unemployment in Iowa.  

Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn said, “How much more evidence does Governor Culver need that his big-government, big-spending style of leadership is an absolute failure? He took us $1.6 billion into debt for his I-JOBS program and has no long-term, good paying jobs to show for it.  

“How can Culver travel to places today like Wapello County, where unemployment has gone up more than two percent over the last year, and tell them that I-JOBS has been a success? On the campaign trail this week, Iowans are hearing Governor Culver pitch I-JOBS as a flood recovery program in an effort to distract from his failure. The bottom line is that he sold I-JOBS as a job creation program, and it has fallen flat. 

“We need a governor who puts job creation above all else. Job creation doesn’t come from government spending. Job creation comes when we create an environment where a small business owner can add workers without fearing job-killing legislation in Des Moines. The first step to choosing a better Iowa is choosing a better governor,” Strawn concluded. 

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed online 5/21/2010

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