Washington Examiner

By Delegate Amanda Batten and Senator Holly Schepisi (NJ—39th SD)

With an economy that is still reopening, President Joe Biden should be benefiting from a natural return to the workforce. The April jobs report released this month, however, was our worst in 23 years compared to expectations. It even showed unemployment back on the rise for the first time since the height of the pandemic. Despite all his campaign rhetoric about building our economy back better, the president’s reckless spending is crushing job creators who cannot seem to compete with the federal government’s steadfast commitment to paying people not to work.

Digging deeper, the data released earlier in April also highlights how Biden’s policies are disproportionately harming women. Nearly 165,000 women left the workforce in April, and 800,000 more women than men are out of work across the country. A recent McKinsey study showed that one in four women is considering leaving the workforce altogether — a vast shift from their views on working prior to the pandemic.

As Republican legislators in Democratic-led states New Jersey and Virginia, we think the reason for the disparity is obvious. Biden and his state Democratic allies are still refusing to stand up to the teachers unions and open schools five days a week, forcing women to absorb the consequences of having to stay home with their children who are being kept out of their classrooms.

Since the onset of the pandemic and the school closures that came with it, 400,000 more women than men have left the workforce. Another recent report on mothers and the workplace shows that nearly 33% of them have chosen to downshift their careers or leave their jobs completely due to increasing responsibilities, such as tending to their children’s virtual schooling. A Washington Post-ABC News poll further confirmed that women are being hot the hardest by the pandemic, with mothers stating that they had to leave their jobs because of child care responsibilities.

The remedy to this problem isn’t complicated. Research shows states where schools have fully reopened have higher labor force participation rates for prime working-age mothers than states that are keeping schools closed. The only reason mothers in blue states such as New Jersey and Virginia are suffering is because liberal politicians would rather prioritize the teachers unions that fund their campaigns than getting children back in the classroom.

Gabrielle Mueller and Karen Hampton co-own the Edgewood Outfitters store at 5709 Richmond Road in the Williamsburg Premium Outlets. The two friends and business partners have been anxious about sales in the months ahead because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But on Monday, Mueller and Hampton got some good news.

About a month ago, they applied for a $3,000 forgivable loan through the Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund, which was established in April by the Virginia 30 Day Fund, the Williamsburg Community Foundation and the Greater Williamsburg Partnership, which represents the economic development authorities for Williamsburg, James City and York counties.

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