Subject: Jeb Bush: 'People should work longer hours' - Hanna Trudo - POLITICO
From: "Eric Schwerin" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Alexander S. Mackler" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2015 22:52:18 -0400

Jeb Bush: 'People should work longer hours' - Hanna Trudo - POLITICO

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/jeb-bush-people-should-work-longer-hours-119884.html

Jeb Bush: 'People should work longer hours'
 [image: Republican presidential candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush
speaks at a town hall meeting Wednesday, July 8, 2015, in Hudson, N.H. (AP
Photo/Jim Cole)]

AP Photo
 Jeb Bush: 'People should work longer hours'

By Hanna Trudo <http://www.politico.com/reporters/HannaTrudo.html>

7/8/15 10:05 PM EDT

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday proposed a blunt solution for
economic troubles: “People should work longer hours,” drawing negative
reactions from critics who suggested the last thing Americans need is to
work more.

The GOP presidential contender made his suggestion during an interview with
the conservative New Hampshire newspaper, The Union Leader, on Wednesday to
address a variety of issues, including a tax reform agenda that Americans
could expect under his administration, ABC News reported.

Story Continued Below

Bush said, “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it,
is 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see. Which means we have to be a
lot more productive, workforce participation has to rise from its all-time
modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours.”

The remarks drew instant reactions from a variety of public figures on the
left, including John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff under
President Bill Clinton who currently serves as the chairman of Hillary
Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Podesta took to social media to criticize Bush’s remarks, stating,
“Americans are working pretty hard already & don’t need to work longer
hours — they need to get paid more.”

The Democratic National Committee also condemned Bush’s remarks, claiming
he is “out-of-touch” and removed from the widespread concerns of
middle-class Americans. In 2012, Democrats made great headway in
criticizing Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, for this type of perceived
disconnect.

A Bush aide responded promptly to the DNC’s remarks in a statement,
claiming, “Under President Obama, we have the lowest work-force
participation rate since 1977, and too many Americans are falling behind.
Only Washington Democrats could be out-of-touch enough to criticize giving
more Americans the ability to work, earn a paycheck, and make ends meet.”

Bush subsequently clarified his remarks stating, “You can take it out of
context all you want, but high sustained growth means people work 40 hours
rather than 30 hours and that by our success they have disposable income
for their families to decide how they want to spend it rather than standing
in line and being dependent upon government.”

According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2014, fewer Americans are working
the standard 40-hour week now than in previous decades. That study
suggested that many Americans reported working on average 47 hours per
week, which amounts to nearly one additional workday longer than a week
consisting of a five-day, 9-to-5 work schedule. Beyond that, there are many
Americans who are underemployed, confined to part-time versions of what
used to be full-time jobs.
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Eric D. Schwerin
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