Fixing the Economy – The Hard (Impossible) Way

President Obama recently convened a jobs summit purportedly being “open to every demonstrable good idea to create jobs” as our economy continues to struggle in the throes of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Unemployment stands at 10% but including the underemployed (those who can only find part-time work) and those who have given up looking for work increases that number to 17%. There are also many persons who presently have jobs but legitimately worry they could lose their present employment and many who had lost their job and subsequently have found new work but at significantly lower pay. Lastly as consumer confidence continues to fall (recently to a 26-year low), ongoing depressed consumer spending further restrains the economy, putting more pressure on business hiring.

Small businesses based in our free market system have been our nation’s primary employer and the source of our economy’s vitality. It would stand to reason that any reasonable effort to stimulate the economy should be expected to promote a healthy small business environment; yet, President Obama and the Democrat Congressional majority have selected the hard (impossible) way to fix the economy – by making the small business environment more difficult.

The taxpayer bailout of the big banks and ongoing Federal monetary policy has resulted in record Wall Street profits and in severely restricted small business credit. The trillion dollar taxpayer stimulus package has largely been a failure. Despite appropriating this huge sum out of the private economy (present and future), unemployment has increased; although we are told that more jobs would have been lost if not for the stimulus package. The jobs stimulated by road improvement projects are now disappearing as those projects and funding have been completed. The taxpayer money to the states to support salaries and to pay obligations similarly has dried up and many states remain in critical financial condition.

Cap and trade energy legislation that would, by the administration’s own admission, result in higher energy costs to families and businesses and also push jobs overseas has mercifully stalled in the Senate. However, just this week, the EPA announced its intention to designate CO2 as a harmful emission and regulate it as such which will result in the same economic harm inherent in the cap and trade legislation.

Perhaps worst of all, current health-care “reform” proposals in the Democrat controlled Congress fail to substantively address the ever escalating cost of health-care insurance and the resultant financial stress of small businesses and families. Rather than reorienting the 3rd party payer system to a more consumer centered system by implementing common sense reform including expansion of Health Savings Accounts, decreased mandated policy benefits, and decreased insurance regulation so to allow national competition and national risk pools, President Obama and the congressional Democrats want to expand mandates, expand the third party payer system, and effectively decrease insurance carrier competition. This “reform” would not only significantly increase health-care costs for businesses and families (http://www.bcbs.com/news/plans/new-report-shows-senate-bill-would-increase-healthcare-costs-for-louisianians.html) but would impose new taxes on those businesses and families.

Apparently “every demonstrable good idea” must conform to the left’s big government and green ideology. Unfortunately, those “good ideas” can only exacerbate our difficult economic situation. These legislative initiatives would be laughable if they were not so harmful to the well being of so many.

The Democrat Senate leadership is pushing to pass their health-care reform bill by Christmas at all costs. We must act. We can each individually make a difference. Call your Senators and urge others to call http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm. Tell them to vote against the present bill. Tell them we need true patient centered reform that decreases costs to families and businesses; reform that decreases insurance regulation and increases competition; and reform that decreases government debt and government intrusion into our health-care.