Jim DeMint Quotes

The more generous the benefit, the easier you make it to stay on unemployment insurance, and the less incentive there is for people to actually go out and do what it takes to get a job.

These works brought all these people here. Something should be done to get them at work again.

All unemployment compensation should be tied to a job training requirement. Now the fact is, 99 weeks is an associate degree.

I've heard the argument that unemployment benefits somehow act as a disincentive to the long-term unemployed when it comes to looking for work, but the opposite is true. Unemployment Insurance serves as a powerful incentive for people to keep searching for jobs, rather than drop out of the labor force altogether.

Immediate relief for the unemployed was the first essential

I feel we should be able … to find a way of employing more of these so-called unemployables

The most important social welfare program in America is a job.

And so whether it's failing to move forward on the Dream Act, failing to move forward on putting teachers back to work, failing to do all the things we could do right now to help the economy and middle class, this Congress is just saying no.

We cannot neglect the unemployed, underemployed and dislocated workers of America who need ample and widespread funding for federal job training services.

The way to an American economic comeback, the way to help those out of work today find a paycheck, is to unleash the forces of job creation in America. The source of new jobs isn't going to be the bureaucracies of Washington, but rather the creativity, ingenuity, and hard work of the American people.

Barack Obama is betting on the American worker.

Let's listen to the people and find common ground to remove barriers to job creation.

Over the last 10 years a huge amount has been achieved in getting people into work. Measures such as the New Deal, tax credits, the minimum wage and improved childcare have brought about record numbers of people in work, a number that is still rising despite the global economic slowdown.

If there's unemployment, having the government help reduce that unemployment, increase employment directly is a pretty good idea. It's not driving out competition; it's not crowding out.

Connecting people to jobs and to each other is absolutely vital to a city's economy (and to the wider economy).

Jobs are central to the American dream - and President Obama has focused on jobs from day one.

We may not realize it, but a crucial step in building a healthy economy is helping people move from welfare to work.

You would think that if any group in America had 20% to 25% unemployment, it would generate all kinds of attention. The Labor Department would understandably and necessarily begin to concentrate on what can we do to reduce this level of unemployment. Congress would give great time on the floor for debate on what can be done.

Government cannot do it all. As we work hard to break welfare dependency and get young people ready for the labour market, we need businesses to give them a chance and not just fall back on labour from abroad.

We have now under President Obama's leadership had 29 months in a row of private sector job growth. That stretch of positive private sector job growth hasn't happened since 2005. We still have a long way to go, but we are moving in the right direction.

We used to have food picked and used to have houses built and we used to have chicken properly processed and it was Americans that did it. If we are going to continue to utilize those goods, then what's going to have to happen is that the employers are going to have to elevate the wages in order to attract American workers to do those jobs.

So more than 8 million people lost their jobs. It's going to take a significant push on our part and time before that comes down. I don't anticipate it coming down rapidly.

Every job is important because each one represents an American's livelihood and ability to raise a family. Yet spending our time building walls around America will do nothing to help us compete for the millions of new jobs being created.

The president's economic plan doesn't do enough to create new jobs and that has to be a national priority. While there are some signs the economy is improving, it is not translating into jobs.

Extending federal unemployment insurance is vital for millions of Americans laid off through no fault of their own, and it serves as an important economic stimulus.