Jobs
posted in General |JOBS
With just 2 months to go, three issues have taken the forefront in the Presidential campaign – the Iraqi War, taxes, and jobs. To be sure, there is an assortment of cultural issues, but these are the big three. The War can be an emotional matter to many and taxation is the classic battle over bigger and bigger spending by the governemnt. But “jobs” is a very personal matter to many Americans.
When our candidates — Kerry and Bush — talk about jobs, it sounds as though they plan to wave a magic wand and thus create more jobs, or, alternately, wave the wand to prevent the “loss” of jobs. The plain fact is that they can't to either one. They can put policies in place that will enhance job creation by stimulating the economy, but that's about the extent of it. Bush has placed his bet on reducing taxes so as to stimulate spending and investment. Kerry leans toward raising taxes and using the money on government projects of one kind or another. Taking tax money to spend on government projects is not creating jobs. It is more like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Pure and simple, job creation is a function of the private sector — and that is where tax policy becomes of critical importance. Economists may argue hot and heavy over the effects of tax policy and interest rates, but one thing is for sure — successful businesses hire people, unsuccessful businesses do not.
The Democrats raise a major fuss over “out-sourcing” which is just a different version of subcontracting. If they can legislate against out-sourcing, what about “in-sourcing” where foreign owned businesses increase employment in the US? Does it only work one way?
Our economy is enormousely complex and is far beyond the control of any individual. Job creation is the by-product of sensible economic policy. Any self-serving declaration of “creating jobs” is a sham. When people are concerned over a potential job loss, it is unconscionable to falsely assure them of a safety in a political refuge.