GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he would not back efforts by the Federal Reserve to enact new economic stimulus measures, calling past moves ineffective.
“I am sure the Fed is watching and will try to encourage the economy. But I don't think a massive new QE3 will help the economy,” said Romney in an interview with CNN aired late Saturday.
Romney said instead that Washington should focus less on boosting the public sector and instead encourage small business and entrepreneurs to aid job creation.
“I can absolutely make the case that now is the time for something dramatic and it is not to grow government,” said Romney. “It is the time to create the incentives and the opportunities for entrepreneurs - businesses big and small - to hire more people and that is going to happen.”
Romney’s comments come on the heels of Friday’s July jobs report which found that the economy added 163,000 jobs last month, but saw the unemployment rate still creep upwards to 8.3 percent.
Obama heralded the job gains, which he said were part of 4.5 million new positions created in the last 29 months, but added there was still “more work to do” to aid the recovery.
Romney though blasted the latest figures as “another hammer blow to the struggling middle-class families of America.”
The Federal Reserve last Wednesday announced no new steps to help bolster the economy, but sent clear signals they would consider taking action if the slowdown continues.
The bank said it would keep interest rates low through 2014, but would “closely” monitor economic conditions and “provide additional accommodation as needed.”
Analysts said the Fed’s language suggested a shift towards action.
A new Federal Reserve stimulus package in the next three months ahead of November’s election would boost President Obama’s reelection prospects, with voters saying the economy is the most important issue.
On CNN, Romney touted his ability to fix the economy, saying that Americans would see strong economic growth “happen in this country but not under this president.”
“His answer is always, ‘Can't we grow government some more?,’ and the problem with growing government, among other things, is that it stays long after these little stimulus years,” he said.
Romney also defended his campaign promise to create 12 million new jobs in his first term if elected president, a figure many economists have raised doubts about.
“We should be seeing 200, 300, 400,000 jobs a month to regain much of what has been lost. That is what normally happens after a recession, but under this president we have not seen that kind of pattern,” he said. “You have to have the Steve Jobs of the world beginning businesses, making products that want to be purchased around the world. That gets Americans back to work."
