(The Center Square) – Not everyone in Pittsburgh seems happy about President Joe Biden’s plan to make the city a “workforce hub” – one of five selected nationwide to help realize his economic revival plan.
Called “Bidenomics,” the administration says the policies prioritize growing the workforce through education, business competition, and infrastructure investment.
Baltimore; Phoenix; Columbus, Ohio; and Augusta, Georgia, were also chosen for the initiative. The administration said Pittsburgh’s legacy of energy production, coupled with a growing robotics industry and its “world class universities,” make it an ideal region to invest federal money.
“He understands the middle class because he’s from the middle class,” said First Lady Dr. Jill Biden during a visit to the Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday. “That’s why he’s strengthening communities like Pittsburgh — fueling a nationwide manufacturing boom and creating new opportunities for hard-working families.”
The sentiment rings hollow for Americans for Prosperity’s Pennsylvania Chapter, however. More than two dozen advocates rallied outside of the airport in opposition to the plan, accusing the administration’s existing policy choices of hurting the middle class – not helping it.
“My 11-year-old daughter understands the economy better than Joe Biden,” said state Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Pittsburgh. “You can’t spend what you don’t have. We are putting these bills on her back and her generation are going to be the ones that are paying for all of the spending that we’re doing right now.”
Emily Greene, the organization’s deputy state director, told The Center Square “Bidenomics” leaves people struggling to make ends meet because of inflation and rising gas prices.
“The ‘Workforce Hubs’ that his administration touts are subsidized programs that are paid for by all taxpayers, but only benefit a select few,” she said. “This is central planning at its worst, and Americans deserve better.”
Springdale Borough Councilman Shawn Fitzgerald, who was at the protest to support energy independence, told The Center Square that Biden’s policies forced the closure of the state’s largest coal-fired plants, leaving more than 100 jobless.
“We need to support good energy to keep our citizens in here, to keep good jobs here, and to continue energy independence,” he said.
