Ezekiel Edwards, an lawyer at Bronx Defenders, which provides legal counsel to the poor, said prolonged jail times sometimes mean lost jobs, children left unattended at home and medical conditions untreated.

This would mean lost jobs, lost wages, lost income and property taxes and the continuation of recession or depression for some areas of the country.

The industry's message was that higher taxes on production would mean lost jobs and less drilling and production in Prudhoe Bay and neighboring oil fields.

The doubts about the benefit of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade revolve in part around the perception that freer trade usually means lost jobs somewhere.

And Mr. Lopez dismissed reports that G.M.'s recent labor unrest has been motivated by fears that his cost-cutting efforts would mean lost jobs.

Meanwhile, economic malaise in much of Europe has made people wary of the heralded "ever closer union" that for many simply means lost jobs.

"This deal would have only meant higher prices, fewer choices and tens of thousands of lost American jobs," said CEO Craig Aaron.

If we blame China for lost American jobs in making shirts, we should credit it for new American jobs in banking and construction.

They will likely respond by saying cuts will mean lost jobs, not just brown lawns.

In the past, industry succeeded in blocking environmental reforms by arguing that they would mean lost jobs.