Today Luke unveiled his jobs plan, "Jobs First, Jobs Now."  To read Luke's policy paper, click here.  Here is today's press release:

MESSER OFFERS “JOBS FIRST, JOBS NOW” PLAN


5th District Congressional Candidate Says the Most Critical Issue Facing the District Is Jobs

(Shelbyville, IN) – Republican Luke Messer today offered a plan to address jobs and the economy. Many communities in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District have struggled with double-digit unemployment for months. Messer’s announcement is in response both to the counterproductive actions of President Obama and the liberal Democratic leadership over the past several months as well as a clear call for action by voters throughout Indiana’s 5th district.


“As I travel the district, folks are amazed by the disconnect in Washington,” said Messer. “We’ve seen some token efforts in recent days. But, for months and months, Washington’s liberal leadership has virtually ignored jobs and the economy.” Messer continued, “Instead, they remain focused on a philosophy-driven effort to grow the size of government and re-shape America in the image of Europe's Socialist Democracies. People are experiencing tremendous economic difficulties that cannot and should not be ignored.”


In it’s so-called “stimulus bill,” Congress approved $787 billion dollars based on claims by the Obama administration that the spending would hold unemployment at eight percent. According to a recent federal report, “nine months later, with over $200 billion of stimulus funding already spent, the rolls of the unemployed have grown by millions and, by any measure, more jobs have been lost than created. Since the stimulus bill was enacted in February, nearly three million Americans have lost their jobs and the percentage of people who are without work has risen to 10 percent. ”


“Nine months, over $200 billion in spending and the end result is a higher national debt and fewer jobs,” noted Messer. “The bottom line is that we need to stop runaway spending and enact policies that will help jumpstart the economy. Simply put, we have to put jobs first.”

Messer’s jobs plan includes: enacting broad-based tax cuts, an end to corporate bail outs, incentives for cheaper energy, controlling spending, using unspent stimulus dollars to pay down national debt, the creation of a district-wide jobs advisory council and restructuring the congressional office staff to hire a full-time professional devoted to utilizing the more than 340 federal economic development programs to help 5th District local elected leaders and businesses create jobs.

"Prior to today’s crisis, our country faced two major economic downturns during the last century: the Great Depression and the recession of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s,” explained Messer. “The government response to the Great Depression was to increase government at a rate unseen in our country’s history. Most historians agree that this expansion likely prolonged the crisis and actually made things worse.”

“In contrast, President Ronald Reagan’s response during the 1980’s was to enact broad-based tax cuts and limit the size of government. These actions resulted in a booming economy and greatest economic expansion in the history of mankind. We should observe these lessons from our past and enact policies similar to that of President Reagan. The path to an economic comeback is lower federal government spending, tax cuts and putting jobs first.”

For more information, visit http://www.lukemesser.com/.