First-Time Jobless Claims Hit 730,000, Job Creators Network Reacts

The Department of Labor revealed the number of first-time unemployment claims was 730,000 last week.

“The good news is, Covid cases have fallen dramatically since January 1^st, down 77% through last week,” said Alfredo Ortiz, President and CEO of the Job Creators Network (JCN).  “The bad news is, Democrats seem determined to turn the pandemic-induced economic slowdown into a long-term recession.  The best example of that is the $15 minimum wage, which is included in the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill the House is voting on this week.  Speaker Pelosi is promoting a list of 300 small business leaders who support the stimulus bill. However, these individuals are not representative of the small business community. According to the Congressional Budget Office, up to 2.7 million people will lose their jobs – and most of them work at small businesses. President Biden’s allies in Big Business, like Amazon and Walmart will benefit because their small business competitors will be eliminated. But the small business community as a whole will be gutted. Everyone agrees we should be doing more to help low-income workers, but a $15 minimum wage is not the answer.  A better solution is to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, which supplements low-income workers’ wages through the tax code, rewarding work without punishing small businesses.”

Today, Mr. Ortiz will be hosting a media call with two small business owners about the $15 minimum wage, and specially how massive companies like Amazon are hypocritical in supporting it.  To RSVP, please contact TJ Winer ([email protected]) or Josh Devin ([email protected]).

This month, the JCN Foundation launched a multi-faceted campaign to unmask Amazon’s thinly veiled attempt to kill its small business competitors. The campaign is housed on PrimeBusinessBuster.com and includes a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal. To learn more, click here.