Dismal Jobs Numbers Due to Bad Weather?

This is a rush transcript from "Your World With Neil Cavuto," March 5, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, ANCHOR: Well, I guess you could blame the weather here. My next guest says that things, as we were discussing, would have been a lot better if not for all those pesky snowstorms we had in February.

With us now, New York Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.

Congressman, very good to have you. Thanks for coming.

REP. CAROLYN MALONEY D-N.Y.: Good to see you again, Neil.

CAVUTO: So, we would have had more jobs, than a decline jobs, had it not been for the blizzards?

MALONEY: Well, some economists, including Fed Chair Ben Bernanke and the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said that the numbers would have been better, and not to take ' that the blizzards that lasted roughly two weeks had a negative impact.

CAVUTO: Right.

MALONEY: We have seen, in prior years, when you have a blizzard, it does impact on the job numbers.

But the main thing, Neil, is that we’re trending the right direction ' 38,000 jobs lost is not good. We are going to have to work even harder. But we’re moving in the right direction.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Trending. You know, Congresswoman, I love you dearly, but, on Pluto, I would be svelte ' all right?

So, I’m telling you, if you’re ' I can see your point on the snow. And it did have a big effective. We had three big storms, and it did drive the ' certainly the Northeast and much of the Atlantic Seaboard to a stop. Then, when the good numbers, are you going to credit the sun?

(LAUGHTER)

MALONEY: I’m going to credit a lot of hard work on the part of the American people. But to put it in perspective...

CAVUTO: No, Congresswoman, I’m being very serious. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t blame storms for bad stuff, which you’re quite accurate to point out, and then not point out how sunny it was when the good numbers come.

MALONEY: Well, last year, in February, we lost 726,000 jobs. The last month that the former president was in office, we lost over 770,000.

CAVUTO: So, we’re still back to blaming President Bush.

MALONEY: So, we’re trending in the ' well, numbers don’t lie. We were losing that many jobs then.

CAVUTO: I know. But, Congresswoman, he’s gone. He has left office. There’s a new sheriff in town.

(CROSSTALK)

MALONEY: Well, in February ' in February, we lost 770,000.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: All right. But what is the statute of limitations, Congresswoman, on ' on blame? I mean, OK, so...

MALONEY: Well, the point is, we’re trending in the right direction.

CAVUTO: Fine. Fine.

(CROSSTALK)

MALONEY: It’s not enough. It’s not good enough. It’s -- it’s misery for those families.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: When they trend positive, when they trend positive, then it’s all Barack Obama. As long as they stay negative, it’s all George Bush?

MALONEY: Well, it’s the American people working with the Recovery Act, working with the jobs tax credit that we passed this last ' yesterday in Congress that will give a payroll tax relief, which your prior speaker was talking about, to those who hire new employees.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But wait. But, Congresswoman, we have been spending money like me at a bake shop, and I got to tell you, we’re still down since stimulus started more than two million jobs, since this president took office, four million jobs.

Now, so leading the created or saved nonsense out, $787 billion in stimulus, $15 billion jobs bill, $150 billion jobs bill that’s in the works, $150 billion of the president’s budget to create green jobs, $15 billion small business loans, $6 billions cash for caulkers, and on and on and on.

And, man, if this is what you get for all that money, what the heck?

MALONEY: The CBO, the independent, bipartisan CBO, says we would have lost 1.2 to two million jobs more if we had not had the Recovery Act.

(CROSSTALK)

MALONEY: We’re trending in the right direction. And there are some glimmers of hope.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Congresswoman, the same CBO you quoted, the same ' the same CBO you quoted has just put out a report saying the deficits are going to be $1.2 trillion more than the administration has forecast over the next 10 years because the tax revenues it’s optimistic it’s going to get are simply too optimistic, that it ain’t going to happen.

That’s the CBO, the same thing you just swore by before. They’re saying, ain’t going to happen. Deficits are going to get worse.

MALONEY: Well, we’re going to have to get people employed, so they’re paying taxes, part of the economy, and helping us dig out of this great recession.

It’s been the worst in my lifetime. But we’re trending in the right direction. And, for the first time in three years, manufacturing has been up for the past two months. And there’s been some positive growth in temporary hiring, which many economists say is the first indicator of recovery.

CAVUTO: Four million jobs, four million jobs lost, two million since stimulus. We spent close to $2 trillion, and that’s what we have for it, Congresswoman.

MALONEY: Well, look at where we were. We’re trending in the right direction. And we’re doing better in...

CAVUTO: I will tell you where we were. We’re four million jobs worse than where we were.

MALONEY: Well, where would we have been without these actions?

CAVUTO: All right. All right.

MALONEY: We were falling off the cliff.

CAVUTO: OK.

MALONEY: At least we are moving in the right direction.

CAVUTO: All right.

MALONEY: We have a lot more work to do, but we’re trending in the right direction. And there are glimmers of hope. And there’s been some growth in the temporary employment which many economists say is the first sign of recovery during a ' during a recession.

CAVUTO: All righty. Congresswoman, great seeing you. Have a great weekend.

MALONEY: Have a great day.

CAVUTO: All right.

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