President’s Once- Lauded Job Council Disbanded
By Donnelly Clare
In the wake of higher- than- expected weekly unemployment numbers Thursday, President Obama has laid off his entire jobs council.
The move comes also one day prior to a federal report showing the GDP has shrunk for the first time in three years. The layoff comes in the form of the Obama Administration not renewing the council, which sunsets today.
The council, which was created during Obama’s first term and under great fanfare, was set up to field ideas from the business community for spurring growth, and forward recommendations to the president. The 26- member council has not met in over a year.
According to a statement from The White House, the president considered 33 of the council’s 35 recommendations in the first year and implemented 16 of them.
“Some of the implemented recommendations include proposing new tax rules that encourage businesses to invest and create jobs in the United States instead of overseas, expediting job-creating infrastructure projects across the country, eliminating inefficient and burdensome federal regulations, and streamlining government,” the White House website says.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama has met with dozens of CEOs since being reelected separate from the jobs council and no longer feels compelled to work only through that panel.