Cleveland
Plain Dealer...
Create
jobs, grow the economy
By U.S. Senator Rob Portman
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The
recent downgrade of the U.S.
credit rating was unprecedented, but, sadly, not unexpected. It was the
experts’ confirmation of what most Americans already understand:
Government
excess fueled by mounting debt is a threat to America’s economic
vitality.
On
the same day as the downgrade, the
government released a jobs report that showed the unemployment rate
still
hovering at a painful 9.1 percent. Twenty-six million Americans are
unemployed
or underemployed today -- too many people out of work, for far too long.
These
two reports -- one on our fiscal
health, the other on joblessness -- are not unrelated. We can’t create
the jobs
needed against the drag of ever-increasing debt. Economists tell us
that
nations as heavily indebted as ours tend to experience 1 percent to 2
percent
slower GDP growth, which translates to millions of lost jobs.
By
the same token, Washington’s fiscal
hole is so deep that economic growth and job creation are needed, along
with
spending restraint, to help stem the tide of record debt. Fiscal
discipline and
job creation can and must go hand in hand.
On
spending cuts, the recent debt agreement
was a step in the right direction, but did not go far enough to restore
our
fiscal health. More is needed, including structural reform of
unsustainable
entitlement programs.
At
the same time, we must press
forward with common-sense, bipartisan ideas to spur job growth. Here
are seven
surefire job creators Congress could take up and pass this year:
•
First, with gas prices inching back
up toward $4 a gallon and new federal rules threatening to drive up
electricity
costs, Washington should adopt an aggressive, pro-growth national
energy
policy, including getting away from our $250 billion-per-year addiction
to
foreign oil.
It’s
time to focus on energy
production here at home, and we have lots of opportunities, including
remarkable new discoveries of oil and natural gas in states like Ohio
that
could help create thousands of new jobs.
The
plan must also include energy
efficiency and our own renewable sources of energy. Washington
shouldn’t pick
winners and losers, but we can remove the government barriers to energy
exploration and production.
•
Let’s reform the tax code to make
the United States more competitive. Americans now spend nearly 8
billion hours
annually complying with a Byzantine tax code that discourages working,
saving,
investment and entrepreneurship. Eliminating tax preferences and
lowering tax
rates will enhance our competitiveness, free businesses to create more
jobs and
ensure a tax code that’s fair for everyone, not just those who can
manipulate
it.
•
Third, let’s provide regulatory
relief by cutting needless red tape. Job creators small and large are
increasingly burdened by expanding layers of Washington regulations.
Let’s go
beyond the rhetoric and enact common-sense cost-benefit analysis that
separates
the necessary regulations from those that kill jobs, and insist
agencies use
the least burdensome alternative.
•
With 95 percent of the world’s
consumers living outside the United States, giving our workers, farmers
and
service providers fair access to those markets should be an urgent
national
priority. Let’s get serious about expanding exports and adding jobs,
starting
by approving the trade-opening agreements long negotiated with South
Korea,
Colombia and Panama, which would create an estimated 250,000 American
jobs.
•
Fifth, let’s give workers the tools
they need to be successful in the 21st century. America’s workers have
traditionally been the most productive in the world, but we are falling
behind.
Congress can act immediately to help retrain today’s workers by
revamping the
$18 billion spent annually on federal training programs. Those already
in the
work force deserve better than the bureaucratic complexities of 44
different
federal employment and training programs administered by nine different
agencies. Let’s reform and modernize our job-training programs to
connect
directly to private-sector needs.
•
Americans deserve a health care
system that provides access to quality, affordable health care. Many of
us
believe this requires repealing the new health care law, which will
cost
trillions and kill as many as 800,000 jobs. But in the meantime, let’s
reduce
health care costs and add jobs by expanding choices and putting
consumers in
charge, through expanding health savings accounts, allowing people to
buy
health insurance across state lines, reining in frivolous lawsuits and
reducing
regulatory barriers to medical innovation.
•
Finally, as noted above, let’s
continue to reduce federal spending now and cap the growth of
government.
President Barack Obama was right when he said last month that dealing
with our
record debt and deficits would lead to greater certainty and job
expansion.
Each
of these seven ideas will bolster
business confidence, private investment and jobs. Each has bipartisan
support.
It’s past time for Washington to move aggressively to adopt these
common-sense
policies to get our economy back on track.
Read
it at the Cleveland Plain Dealer
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