Update – As I’ve previously stated, the financial markets and businesses do not like economic uncertainty introduced by Democrats or Republicans. The Wall Street Journal talks about “The Uncertainty Economy” with comments like these:
The panicked Democrats’ biggest problem is that Congress and the President have erected the biggest overhang of economic policy uncertainty that anyone can remember… A 2,074-page, trillion-dollar health-care bill to redesign 17% of the U.S. economy. A carbon tax—cap and trade—that remains an Obama priority ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit next month. A falling dollar and gyrating commodity prices, with no idea where those prices will go next.
Democratic liberals are talking about an income tax surcharge to pay for any commitment in Afghanistan. Card check, to expand unionization of the private economy, remains a priority. Domestic discretionary spending in fiscal 2010 is set to rise at 12.1%, with inflation near zero.
Nurturing a fragile economic recovery into a durable expansion requires policies that restore public confidence and reassure investors, risk-takers and employers. The Democratic agenda is doing precisely the opposite, which is how you get subpar growth and fewer new jobs.
Nov 16 – If you’re a reader of this blog, you are well aware that I’m cynical about the O’bama administration on many fronts. However, one of the most important is the apparent total lack of insight into what creates wealth for a nation. When Reagan came into office in the early 1980s, the country was also faced with a very challenging economic climate (post-Jimmy Carter). However, the primary difference was that Reagan understood capitalism and he recognized that Government is not the solution — but the problem. Reagan’s economic policies stoked the growth in business, and catapulted the US past the Japan juggernaut.
Well, now you don’t have to take my word for it. We now have some big-time CEOs that have stepped forward to clearly define the impediments popping up from the O’bama administration. The CEO of Emerson Electric Company (a $20 billion company) said the U.S. government is hurting manufacturers with regulations and taxes and his company will continue to focus on growth overseas. When asked about his plans, the Emerson CEO remarked, “What do you think I am going to do? I’m not going to hire anybody in the United States. I’m moving. They [Government] are doing everything possible to destroy jobs.”