2012 V.P. Debate: on Jobs

Joe Biden: We can & will get unemployment under 6%

BIDEN: I don't know how long it will take. We can and we will get it under 6%. Let's look at where we were when we came to office. The economy was in free fall. The Great Recession hit. Nine million people lost their job, $1.6 trillion in wealth lost in equity in your homes & in retirement accounts. We knew we had to act for the middle class. We immediately went out and rescued General Motors. Romney said, no, let Detroit go bankrupt. We moved in and helped people refinance their homes. Governor Romney said, no, let foreclosures hit the bottom. But it shouldn't be surprising for a guy who says 47% of the American people are unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives. [Rep. Ryan] recently said 30% of the American people are takers. These people are my mom and dad, the people I grew up with, my neighbors. They pay more effective tax than Governor Romney pays in his federal income tax

Paul Ryan: This is not what a real recovery looks like

RYAN: You know what the unemployment rate in Scranton is today?

BIDEN: I sure do.

RYAN: It's 10%.

BIDEN: Yeah.

RYAN: You know what it was the day you guys came in?

BIDEN: No.

RYAN: 8.5%. That's how it's going all around America.

BIDEN: You don't read the statistics. It's going down.

RYAN: Look, did they come in and inherit a tough situation? Absolutely. But we're going in the wrong direction! Look at where we are. The economy is barely limping along. It's growing at 1.3%. 23 million Americans are struggling for work today. 15% of Americans are living in poverty today. This is not what a real recovery looks like. We need real reforms for a real recovery, and that's exactly what Mitt Romney and I are proposing. [Including]: Don't raise taxes on small businesses, because they're our job creators.