Grimes rhetoric & record don’t match on job creation

Alison Lundergan Grimes is recycling her 2011 campaign rhetoric that creating jobs is her number one priority. Three years later, her record on job creation is abysmal, but she continues to play the same tune.

The Grimes rhetoric: “Creating jobs is my number one priority.”

In 2011, Grimes released “Alison’s Action Plan for Kentucky,” in which Grimes said, “Creating jobs is my number one priority.”

Despite Grimes’ claim three years ago that job creation is her “number one priority,” Kentuckians are still struggling to find work.

The Grimes record: 5th worst unemployment rate in the nation

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveal that, since Grimes was sworn in as Secretary of State, Kentucky’s labor force has decreased and the number of employed Kentuckians has increased by only 0.4%.

According to BLS, Kentucky has the 5th worst unemployment rate in the nation at 7.9%.

Hardly a success given that Grimes identified job creation as her “number one priority.”

The Grimes record: Kentuckians lose high-paying jobs

According to an Associated Press report, Kentucky is losing high-paying jobs, while job growth occurs in low-paying jobs.

“Kentucky lost 104,000 jobs during the recession, Coomes said, and has added 65,000 jobs during the recovery period. Almost all of those jobs have been in low-wage industries including temporary jobs, educational services, restaurants, nursing, transportation and warehousing. The biggest job losses have come in construction and coal mining, two industries that pay above average wages.”

The question for Grimes: If Kentucky lags the nation and she promised to be in charge of creating Kentucky jobs, is her Secretary of State tenure a failure?

As Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Sam Youngman wrote,

“But the question remains: If Grimes promised to increase jobs in 2011, should she take some of the blame for stagnant job growth in Kentucky?”

Grimes owes it to Kentucky voters to answer that question.

If Grimes won’t or can’t answer that simple question, Kentuckians know that her campaign rhetoric doesn’t match her record.

She identified her own “number one priority” in 2011, and she has failed in making any meaningful progress with job creation.


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