Bill Clinton on Jobs

President of the U.S., 1993-2001; Former Democratic Governor (AR)

1990s: Bottom 20% of earners saw wage increase of 24%

[1990s welfare reform included] policies designed to help them succeed, including a doubling of the refundable earned income tax credit; a new child tax credit; an increase in the minimum wage; a doubling of child support collections; a welfare-to-work tax credit to encourage employers to hire; more funds for child care, education, and training; the removal of employment disincentives from Medicaid; transportation aid; and housing vouchers to help low-income people move closer to job opportunities. During my two terms, nearly 8 million people moved out of poverty, and the bottom 20% of earners saw their wages rise by 24%, after falling 10% in the previous 12 years.

The success of welfare reform was due to more than better policies. There was also a conscious effort to expand the job market for people coming off welfare by organizing a large number of employers to recruit and hire their new employees from the welfare ranks

Source: Giving, by Bill Clinton, p.174 Sep 4, 2007

$15B for jobs in poor communities

I recommended a minimum wage increase, expanded family leave, a child-care tax credit, and trigger locks on guns. I also asked Congress to pass the Equal Pay and Employment Non-Discrimination acts; to establish a new American Private Investment Corporation to help raise $15 billion to create new businesses and jobs in poor communities. Source: My Life, by Bill Clinton, p.843 Jun 21, 2004

1990: AFL-CIO refused endorsement; Locals endorsed anyway

In April, the AFL-CIO refused for the first time to endorse me. Bill Becker, their president, had never really liked me. He thought the sales tax increase was unfair to working people, opposed the tax incentives I'd supported to lure new jobs to Arkansas, and blamed me for the failure of the tax-reform referendum of 1988. He was also furious that I had supported a $300,000 loan guarantee to a business involved in a labor dispute.

Within two weeks, 18 local unions defied Becker and endorsed me anyway. They didn't fall into the classic liberal trap of making the perfect the enemy of the good. If the people who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 hadn't made the same mistake, Al Gore would have been elected President.

Source: My Life, by Bill Clinton, p.357-8&928-9 Jun 21, 2004

Increase minimum wage; allow more family leave

The Family and Medical Leave Act allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for seriously ill family members, new born or adoptive children, or their own serious health problems without fear of losing their jobs.
The minimum wage has risen from $4.25 to $5.15 per hour, increasing wages for 10 million workers. The President and Vice President have called for an additional increase to $6.15.
The Workforce Investment Act empowered individuals by giving adults more control and choice over their training or retraining and providing universal access to core labor market services; streamlined job training services by consolidating a tangle of individual programs into a simple system and creating a nationwide network of One-Stop Career Centers; enhanced accountability through tough performance standards for states, localities, and training providers. Source: WhiteHouse.gov web site Dec 1, 2000

22M new jobs; lowest unemployment since 1960s
22.1 million new jobs have been created since 1993, the most jobs ever created under a single Administration. The economy has added an average of 248,000 jobs per month, the highest under any President.
The private sector of the economy has grown 4.5 percent annually since 1993. Since 1993, 20 million new jobs have been created in the private sector.

Unemployment is down from 7.5% in 1992 to 4.0% in June 2000, and in April 2000 the unemployment rate was the lowest in thirty years. The unemployment rate has fallen for seven years in a row, and has remained below 5% for 34 months in a row. African-American unemployment has fallen from 14.2% in 1992 to an average of 7.7% in the first half of 2000 -- the lowest rate on record. The unemployment rate for Hispanics has fallen from 11.6% in 1992 to an average of 5.7% in the first half of 2000 -- the lowest rate on record. For women the unemployment rate was 4.1% in June -- nearly the lowest since 1953. Source: WhiteHouse.gov web site Jul 7, 2000

$3.2B for farm conservation programs

[The Clinton-Gore Administration] provided farmers with new conservation tools by proposing and signing a Farm Bill that authorized $2.2 billion in additional funding for conservation programs such as the Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve. They created new federal-state partnerships that targeted over $1 billion - in IL, MD, MN, NY, OR, and WA - for farmers and ranchers to voluntarily remove lands from production to improve water quality and wildlife habitat. Source: WhiteHouse.gov web site Apr 1, 2000

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