Dem Rep. Himes: Jobs Numbers Show Economy’s Still ‘Rough’ and Prove Rescue Plan Wasn’t Too Big

On Saturday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Velshi,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) reacted to the jobs numbers by stating that the economy still isn’t in good shape, but that you can’t read too much into one month’s numbers, and that the numbers prove that the rescue plan wasn’t too big.

Host Ali Velshi said, “I was a little disappointed when I saw the jobs numbers yesterday morning. It does, however, underscore the fact that we continue to need government intervention into this recovery, something that a lot of conservatives have been arguing we don’t need. We don’t need the jobs plan. We don’t need the families plan. The market’s bringing this economy back on its own. Apparently it’s not.”

Himes responded, “Well, that’s right. That’s right, Ali. And, look, the economy’s still in rough shape. I’ve learned over the years that if you watch every single month’s job number or any number and decide that that’s how you’re going to set your sort of mental equilibrium for the month you’re going to be a very volatile and probably unhappy person. This is, as the president said, not a sprint, it is a marathon. But Ali, I have to observe that the very same people who are pulling their hair out and setting themselves on fire over yesterday’s jobs numbers are precisely the same people who two months ago said, this is way too big of a rescue plan, way, way, way, too big. The economy’s doing fine. We don’t need a rescue plan.”

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