http://www.al.com/opinion/inde...w_again_bentley.html
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"The only stat that matters: more Alabamians are working now than in 2011."-@GovernorBentley pic.twitter.com/psnb4nWFXq
"I'm sorry, Governor Bentley, but I have to beat you up again, and you know what for.
On Tuesday, you went on television and argued that the only statistic that matters is that more Alabamians are working now than there were in 2011."
I understand why you want to believe that, but other numbers matter, even if they tell a story you don't want Alabamians to hear.
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AL.com's Alex Walsh has delivered the bare facts:
- Between May and June, Alabama lost about 3,500 jobs.
- Nearly 10,000 fewer Alabamians have jobs than a year ago.
- Since January, the state's unemployment rate has risen nearly a full percentage point.
- Alabama is the only state in the country with a year-to-year increase in unemployment.
And one more thing ...
That stat you said was the only one that matters -- your claim that more Alabamians are working today than in 2011? I had Walsh check it out (he's better at this than me) and he says you're wrong on that, too.
When you took office in January 2011, an estimated 2,005,787 Alabamians were employed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Today, 1,994,537 Alabamians are working.
Also, I understand why you want to start the clock in 2011 -- it ignores what employment was before the Great Recession.
Many states in the nation have seen job numbers rise to equal those of just before the recession hit, and some are now exceeding those pre-2008 numbers.
Alabama is not one of those states. It's not even close. National job growth is three-times what we are seeing here.
In particular, the construction industry is still 30,000 jobs below its peak.
You can take some consolation that Alabama wasn't dead last in job growth. We're 47th. Vermont, Alaska and New Jersey did worse. But don't thank God for Mississippi this time.
Curiously, the 13 states that have seen the strongest job growth this year were states that raised their minimum wage in January, debunking what many of the economic doomsayers predicted.
One of those critics was you.
State Rep. Darrio Melton, D-Selma, tried to push this issue during the last legislative session, but it went nowhere.
"What happens is either less jobs are created, less jobs are developed or the money that is put in the jobs will passed on to the people who consume whatever is produced at the business," you said then.
Economists warn that it's too early to draw a causation between the minimum wage and job growth, but one thing is clear.
What Alabama is doing isn't working.
When you ran for governor in 2010, you made job growth your number one issue, and you emphasized it again in your State of the State address in January. You promised not to take a paycheck until Alabama reaches virtual full employment, but at this rate, even if you are reelected, you might never see the first check.
You might be able to survive without a paycheck, but most Alabamians can't.
When you ran four years ago, you told us Alabama needed a doctor.
But, Doc, the medicine you've prescribed isn't curing the disease. http://www.al.com/opinion/inde...w_again_bentley.html