According to a Reuter's report, members of the U.S. Congress began 2010 scrambling to reduce the double-digit jobless rate. With supposed 1 in 10 Americans are out of work (percentage is much higher in some states), the highest in 25 years, the Democrats are making job creation their top priority. "Americans have a lot of angst, a lot of anger, a lot of fear" said House Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. "Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, or an independent, all polls show that jobs are the major issue." The full Senate returns from Christmas break this Wednesday. Last month, the House passed a $155 billion bill to stimulate the job market through infrastructure projects and helping states pay the salaries of public employees. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, along with Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), are expected to offer a jobs package in the coming weeks. However, the subscription the House and Senate have to cure America's ailing economy is to grow the government. None of their proposals will do anything to help the private sector, which is the real engine of job growth. It's understandable that there are some necessary government jobs such as the military, the Congress and the Senate. However, the proposals the Democratic Congress along with President Obama have won't create wealth in this country.
Last month President Obama held a December jobs forum. He didn't have much anything to offer with the jobs forum. With the House and Senate signing a costly healthcare bill along with a growing deficit up to $12.4 trillion, the last thing we need are bills which will further push America in the red. Last February in 2009, President Obama signed an "emergency" $787 billion stimulus bill which extended unemployment benefits, aided cash-strapped states and local governments to help them avoid laying off workers, and spent money (I don't know the percentage) on infrastructure, education, and healthcare. That stimulus bill also helped pay off people that contributed to their political campaigns as well. It was nothing but a pork bill. It didn't do very much to help the ordinary average American.
I wasn't for Congress passing the $787 billion stimulus bill last February. However, if they were going to spend money in passing a stimulus, then they should've given it to small businesses to help rejuvenate them. We need small businesses to hire workers. Instead, the government will take the taxes of ordinary Americans and spend it on minorities, illegal aliens, welfare recipients, and huge corporations that contribute to their political campaigns. Last year the Obama administration gave bailout money to AIG, Chrysler, and General Motors. There are probably other corporations that received bailout money that I'm not aware of. It was money thrown down the drain. Both General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy last year. It doesn't make any difference whether it's Democrat or Republican or the Bush and Obama administrations. Our government will help the super rich that contribute to their campaigns. However, giving money to Goldman Sachs, AIG, or General Motors is a waste of time. These huge corporations aren't going to invest in American jobs. These corporations have exported millions of American jobs overseas. If the government is going to help any business, they should help those businesses that will grow jobs for America. Instead our government is paying back Wall Street.
The key to job growth is for the private sector to create new jobs; primarily through small or medium-sized businesses. The government has stifled the private sector with all kinds of burdensome regulations through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that was passed in 2002. The government needs to remove burdensome regulations from American businesses. The government also needs to greatly reduce the tax rate on businesses as well. The more tax money that businesses have to pay, the less money that's available to hire and train workers. Economic recovery isn't going to come through government jobs. The money the government pays to its workers comes through the American taxpayer. The American taxpayer is already cash-strapped with taxes, a high mortgage bill, energy bills, etc. Taxes will rise again this year if Obama's healthcare plan is signed into law. Expanding the size of government will do nothing but bankrupt America. The government needs to leave the private industry alone for the most part (except breaking up monopolies). When the private sector grows jobs, there will be new revenue for the government to collect. America throughout all its history has relied on the private sector to create it's jobs as well as create new inventions.
All of the great inventions that the United States has created throughout the past 233 years has been accomplished through the private sector. The cotton gin, the light bulb, the phonograph, the automobile, the computer, and the list continues were created by entrepreneurs. It wasn't created by the government. When the private sector is allow the opportunity to research and create new inventions, then new demand is created and jobs will grow. When more jobs are created and more Americans are working, then the tax receipts to the government at all levels will grow.
The key to job recovery and economic growth is for the government to allow the private sector to flourish without all the burdensome regulations and the high tax rates. One of the fears many small businesses are worried about is how will the healthcare bill affect them if it's signed into law. I know that there have been abuses in the private sector throughout American history, but the federal government's stifling business from functioning isn't going to grow our economy. The government needs to stay out of the business of entrepreneuralism and allow the market to function in a competitive environment. The only legitimate role the government has when interfering in business is to break up monopolies.
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