(CNN) – Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Sunday called Mitt Romney's argument that women have been disproportionately affected by the economic downturn "ridiculous."
Geithner said Romney's premise that 92.3% of the jobs lost in the country were among women has been debunked, adding that men, women and families alike have been hurt by the economy.
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"It's a ridiculous and deeply misleading look at the economy," Geithner said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Remember the recession and the crisis started at the beginning of 2008 before the president took office. It caused a huge amount of damage to men, to women, to families. And the damage lasted for a time, and you're still seeing the scars of that."
Both sides of the political aisle have accused their opponents of waging a "war on women." The latest round of attacks came from likely Republican presidential nominee Romney who has repeatedly blamed Democratic policies for a spike in female job losses.
But Geithner said the crisis "hurt everybody," particularly men in the form of construction and manufacturing jobs in 2008 and later women in the form of state and local government jobs, as well as teaching positions.
An analysis of federal labor statistics showed Romney's claim was technically true, but missing important context.
The number of non-farm employed women from January 2009, when Obama took office, to March 2012 did fall far more than the number of employed men in that period, proving the 92.3% figure. However, since February 2010, women have actually gained 863,000 jobs.
The statistic also does not reflect that men constituted a much larger chunk of the job loss pie in the year leading up to Obama's inauguration.
Geithner pointed to the 2008 start date of the downturn, before Obama took office, to help prove his point that the president is now leading the country toward economic growth.
"The president's policies are making the economy stronger," Geithner said on ABC's "This Week." "And the alternatives proposed by his opposition would be devastating, not just to the safety net, but to investments in education, be very damaging to the economy."
Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul responded to Geithner's comments saying "What's the real risk to America's fiscal future? Four more years of the same failed policies from the Obama administration."
– CNN Political Research Director Robert Yoon contributed to this report.
From CNN Politics
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Women who stay at home to raise their children should be given federal assistance for child care so that they can enter the job market and "have the dignity of work," Mitt Romney said in January,
How many female teachers were laid off because of Republican Governors union busting agendas?
@Janelle : It is Mitt who is hiding his taxes from former years and who is stalling last year's returns. Care to explain?
janelle: if good looks were a qualification for the Presidency, the Republicans should have run George Clooney or Brad Pitt. Romney has no moral core. He is unelectable.
What?! Mitt Romney said something dishonest to appeal to a key bloc of voters?
Like he's never done that before. . .
Geithner can't be trusted.
Empty suit caught lying again,when he's not hiding behind his wife.
here's my analogical take on this – GWB dug us into one of the deepest economic holes in our country's history ... OHB, standing inside the hole after him, is now not only blamed for it but criticized for not filling fast enough ... P.S. lest anyone forget, Romney was one of the individuals digging the hole with GWB ... a hole with a unfettered misappropriation of people's money by financial institutions
Romneys spokeswoman answered Geithners comments by saying, " What's the real risk to americas fiscal future ? Four more years of the same failed policies of the Obama administration."
Has she got herself stuck on a recording loop ? That seems to be the exact same answer she gives to every comment from the democrats. You need to come up with some fresh material sweetheart. That has gotten pretty stale.
Janelle – Geithner has just stated the facts. The recession started in 2008 as he (and others) have stated. Therefore the count on jobs lost and the categories where they were lost starts at the START of the recession and not a year later as Mitt&Co, the GOP/TP has done. There are only 2 possibilities here: 1) Mitt is not capable of analyzing data (I don't believe that at all) or 2) he is lying (this I believe). Either way, he doesn't deserve the Presidency. Good luck Janelle in believing that Mitt is THE ONE – he is the one lying the most and the worst.
**An analysis of federal labor statistics showed Romney's claim was technically true, but missing important context. **
When you need to make a point, it's easy to find a fact, and then misrepresent it as the "truth". Like Limbaugh does.
So the article does corroborate that what Romney says is true but then goes on to lavish praise on Geitner for mis-characterizing what Romney said. If only the liberals are as good at running the country as spinning lies maybe we would't be in such bad a shape.
So the man who made wall street fail then was hired by Obama to help fix what he helped to brake and has done a horrible job fixing the mess he help cause is going to criticize a man who helped to build many business including Staples, ran the Winter Olympics, Managed a State and built a fortune. WOW TIMMY BOY is really , really brain dead.
Republicans may blame Obama for more women being out of work, but I blame Republican economic policies for the mess we're in to begin with. It wasn't the Democrats who made up 'trickle down economics', but it 's the economic policy we've been following for 30 years and it's led to a greater number of families having to have both parents work to get by while more and more of the nations wealth is consolidated in fewer and fewer hands.
I am so pleased that a man of Geithners position hasFINALLY come foreward and called some of the Repub candidates on their lies. When Romney made his pronouncements on womens unemployment figures, we all knew these were falsehoods but there was nothing we could do to help correct this misinformation.. Thanks to Mr. Geither for his help in letting the voters know the truth!!!! If this action were more available on some of the Repub. comments, the public would be in a better position to evaluate the plethora of misstatements thrown at us!!!!!!
I have direct knowledge that the GOTPs as.sertion is patently false! In the 2010 Lege session of my state, a Republican majority fired 10,000+ teachers & Thousands of govt.employees were laid off, including firefighters, while our state was burning around our ears! They also cut funding for womens clinics, based on religious ideology! My Guv'nah said in his state of the state speech that he stood for the weakest in our society, the poor, children, the ill & the elderly, then promtly put those peoples needs on the chopping block! Seems the GOTP wants to do this on a national level now!! Obama 2012!!
Well it's clearly a lie. Most jobs were lost by men; women generally work in healthcare, education and the government, sectors immune to recessions.
The worst part about Romney is he didn't have to lie or change his positions to win the nomination. Worst comes to worst he could have let Santorum win it, Obama cream him then come back in 2016 again. And now that he's won it, he certainly doesn't have to baldfaced lie about most of the jobs being lost by women, unless he was trying to win the non-married single professional woman demographic.
Romney doesn't have to lie to win yet he lies. It really makes you think twice about voting for him; at least Obama sincerely believes in his positions, even if they're wrong.
So Romney blames the prez for job losses in a recession that started under the fearless leadership of the republicans and now says Obama is going to go after gun ownership, which was the mantra in 2008. Mittens is so out of touch one can only hope the electorate can see through his veil of mistruths.
Geithner is right. : most of the republican's claims are crap or inventions. They seldom leave ways to reply to them and give no sources or false infomation from fox news
It seems mitt romney is spending billions or millions to spred misinformation against President Obama 
Luckily all the achievements President Obama has accomplished speak for themselves :! mitt romney cannot undo the evidence
)))))))))
So, it was wrong because......? Geitner and author of this article fail to show what is "ridiculous" about the claim. The fact that men lost a ton of jobs before Obama took office only means that Obama failed women by not protecting the economy. Facts hurt. If you're going to report on something as being "debunked," then please show us the proof.
Anyone who believe a single word out of this administration makes me wonder about their mental capacity. I'll ask the question that has been asked before, "How's that Hope and Change working for you"?
Janette: No
))))))) You will regret having defended romney! unless you are filthy rich, like ann romney.
if these people who have run our gov't., 13 trillion dollars indebt and climbing, ran their own personal house holds the same, the sherrif would have posted sale signs years ago..how is it these untouchables are afraid of a balanced budget amendment..
A tax cheat, at least he doesn't hide his money in the Cayman Island.
janelle
You trust Robme (sic), with his tax evasion, swiss bank accounts, and Cayman island tax dodges. Now there is a tax cheat, who wants to be President!! A man who paid only 14% in taxes last year and who will not divulge past year returns (2005 and 2006) wher he paid nothing in taxes on an income of over $20M. A greedy plutocrat who endorses Ryan's welfare plan for the rich and ultra-rich? If you believe Romney, I have a bridge to sell you.