Former Obama administration green czar Van Jones criticized Republicans’ latest attack on public workers and their unwillingness to pass legislation that would help the country’s economy recover Sunday morning.

Appearing on ABC’s This Week panel, Jones hit back at former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s usual attack on public employees, including expressing a belief that most public school teachers make up to $100,000 in Chicago in salary and benefits.

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“Look, first of all, maybe I raised wrong, I never heard of this threat to American called ‘public employee,'” Jones said. “In my neighborhood, we called them teachers, we called them firefighters, we called them cops, we called them nurses. And we were told to look up at them and respect them. And to now be a punching bag, people like my father and my mother, who were public school teachers who did not make $100,000 and whatever you just said and nothing near it, for them to become a punching bag is wrong.”

“Furthermore, I think we to need to take a big step back here. When you have the amount of pain in this country, the Republican Party has not only been missing in action, they won’t pass their own bills to help Americans right now. They won’t pass their own ideas to help small businesses right now. Why? Because their gain will come when America has more pain.”

Jones added: “It’s like Obama is a lifeguard, trying to help people from drowning, and these guys are sitting back hoping more people will drown. That’s wrong, that’s morally wrong.”

In Chicago, the average salary for a teacher is currently $50,577, including all benefits.

WATCH: Video from ABC, which was broadcast on June 10, 2012. (Highlighted from 3:52 to 5:24)

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