A closer look at the unemployment [nearly 10 percent unemployment rate] suggests that minimum wage laws also deserve a big share of the blame….businesses are not charities and that they only create jobs when they think a worker will generate net revenue. Higher minimum wages, needless to say, are especially destructive for people with poor work skills and limited work experience.
We cannot legislate prosperity. When we increase minimum wages by legislative fiat, we kill jobs. Government creates nothing but what it has first taken away.
The student-loan provisions buried in the health care legislation intentionally eliminate private-sector jobs at a time when our country can least afford to lose them.
We also have concerns over the potential impact on Sallie Mae's operations in Delaware, which employs nearly 700 workers. We ask that as you draft the committee's mark ... you maintain a role for Sallie Mae in the student lending process that recognizes the important services Sallie Mae has provided millions of students and mitigates any potential job loss in Delaware.
The state of Washington has no income tax. Its unemployment rate is 20 percent lower than Oregon's -- before [Ballot Measures] 66 and 67. These measures would give Oregon the highest income tax rates in the country….Reputable economists forecast 66 and 67 will cost the state thousands -- maybe tens of thousands -- of jobs, and that thousands of our most successful residents will leave the state.
There's Washington, and then there's the rest of the country. This is the rest of the country….We don't want just any old jobs. We want our jobs.
The response from the community has been incredible. Our local leaders, our families, our friends, our neighbors; more than 80,000 concerned citizens want our Senators to understand the economic impact of these jobs and the valuable services we provide students and families every day.
For decades, Sallie Mae has done great work to support millions of students and families and that is felt right here in Central Indiana through employment opportunities and economic development. With unemployment in our region at more than 10 percent, these are jobs we can’t afford to lose.
The good work Sallie Mae does to support millions of students and families across the country is also felt right here in Pennsylvania. The company has been part of this community for more than two decades and we need them to continue to provide employment opportunities in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, however, would require all federal student loans to be originated by the federal government, jeopardizing hundreds of private sector jobs in Wilkes-Barre and hampering related economic development in the state. Sallie Mae currently contributes more than $40 million annually to the local economy and has contributed millions to local charities.
