Jack Welch refuses to abandon jobs report conspiracy theories
theGRIO REPORT - Former GE CEO Jack Welch won't back down from his claims that Obama administration doctored September's positive jobs report to increase the president's chances of re-election...
Former GE CEO Jack Welch won’t back down from his claims that Obama administration doctored September’s positive jobs report to increase the president’s chances of re-election.
Welch started a firestorm late last week when he tweeted: “Unbelievable jobs numbers … these Chicago guys will do anything … can’t debate so change numbers.”
Now, despite widespread criticism, Welch is refusing to back down from his controversial comments.
In a recent opinion piece for the Washington Post, Welch wrote, “if I could write that tweet again, I would have added a few question marks at the end, as with my earlier tweet, to make it clear I was raising a question.”
He also compared the United States to Soviet Russia and Communist China because of critique he has received from what he calls “administration sympathizers.”
“Unfortunately for those who would like me to pipe down, the 7.8 percent unemployment figure released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last week is downright implausible. And that’s why I made a stink about it,” Welch also wrote in his op-ed.
Welch ‘s view is supported by conservatives like Rep. Allen West for House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Washington Examiner writer Conn Correll and CNBC’s Rick Santelli who said, “I told you they’d get it under 8 percent — they did! You can let America decide how they got there!”
But many financial experts and economists are say Welch and his fellow conspiracy theorists should be sent “to the time-out corner.”
Economics Editor for Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Radio Michael McKee told Bloomberg, “It’s very sad that we have to be talking about something like this and that someone who used to have a good reputation like Jack Welch would say something that’s so ridiculous — because it’s impossible. To believe that there was a conspiracy to cook the books, you would have to believe that several thousand people including Republicans in two different government agencies all conspired together and nobody is arguing with that.”
Since the backlash, Welch has chosen to end his columns with both Reuters and Fortune. In a message posted on Fortune‘s website Welch wrote, “In terms of traction, it’s just a better fit.”
According to Bloomberg Business, the decision was made after a piece by Fortune managing editor Andy Serwer dismissed Welch’s comments on the unemployment figures, and also a Reuters story quoted a money manager who described Welch’s statements as “laughable.”
Follow Similoluwa Ojurongbe on Twitter and simioju.com
