Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams said in an appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday that a focus on “masculine” jobs is blocking U.S. economic recovery.
The moment: Meghan McCain, the conservative-leaning co-host of “The View,” asked Abrams about Friday’s disappointing jobs report and the bipartisan view that overgenerous unemployment benefits are discouraging Americans from going back to work.
But Abrams — who’s been on a media tour to promote her new thriller novel — rejected McCain’s suggestion that “throwing money at this problem isn’t working” for the Biden administration.
- Instead, Abrams argued, the solution to America’s economic problems is trillions more dollars of federal spending in the form of Biden’s American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan.
- “Because it recognizes that the economy of care, which employs so many women, has got to be seen as an essential part of how we rebuild our economy, and that it is insufficient for us to simply focus on the more traditional masculine areas of the economy,” she said.
- “Recognizing that we have to have women in every area, but that in particular women have been hardest hit and therefore we need intentional engagement and intervention to rebuild it back more solidly.”
The party line: Biden defended himself Monday against critics who say expanded unemployment benefits offered in the COVID-19 relief bill passed in March are keeping Americans from taking new jobs.
- At the same time, though, Biden pledged his administration would work with states to crackdown on unemployed Americans who do not actively look for work or accept a comparable job.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday “bigger factors” are keeping people home than increased unemployment benefits.
- She said vaccination rates, childcare and school reopenings all have an impact. And employers, she said, need to pay a “livable working wage.”
