Washington, D.C. – Senator Ron Johnson (WI) released the following statement regarding the President’s comments on the economy today:

“I was extremely disappointed to hear the President assert this morning that ‘the private sector is doing fine.’ Just as disappointing was his statement, ‘where we’re seeing weaknesses in our economy had to do with state and local government’ and what our nation needs is an expansion of government to cure our economic ills.

“We have had 40 consecutive months of unemployment above 8 percent. The economy is teetering on the edge of recession. And just last Friday, the Obama administration announced that unemployment is on the rise.

“This President may be seriously out of touch with reality and that is frightening.

“The economy is not fine. Private sector job creation is not fine. Millions of Americans are suffering from the President’s constant focus on growing government, instead of reasonable, bipartisan steps to promote private sector job creation. It is high time we had a President who was focused on economic growth.  It is time for a change in course. It’s time for real leadership.”

###