To the editor:
I've been a recruiter servicing corporate America for 30 years. To avoid a double-dip recession I believe private sector middle- and upper-middle-class corporate sector jobs creation is the answer.
We can't fund government absent a vibrant private sector generating revenue to the Treasury. For really the past 10 years, jobs in the corporate sector, in general, have never come back from pre-2001 recession levels. We have fewer jobs today with more people working than we did 12 years ago. My approach to what I'd like to see politically happen to encourage jobs creation sparking our national revitalization is guaranteed to alienate both parties for differing reasons, so am certain there would never be consensus to institute it.
Everyone knows we're in a globalized economy. This means the FDR-based Keynes approach of massive government spending for public works to stimulate the economy and the Reaganomics/Bush approach of cutting taxes alone and getting out of the way both likely will no longer work. Temporary "make-work" jobs won't create a trickle-down effect creating other jobs and tax cuts alone also no longer create a trickle-down effect as they only seem to encourage additional offshore investment.
How about government creating U.S. jobs growth through legislation? How about simultaneously reducing the cost of doing business in the U.S. by cutting taxes, government mandates, and regulations while increasing the cost of U.S. companies doing business overseas by rescinding all tax incentives to do so.
The problem? The 60 percent of Republicans who are the "country club" Republicans, business owners demanding access to cheap labor, unrestrained free traders, and wealthy investors will vehemently oppose raising the cost of doing business overseas as this cuts into their profits. Meanwhile, the Democrats will equally vehemently oppose reducing the cost of doing business in the U.S. as they support government mandates, regulations, and higher taxes believing in the rich subsidizing the poor.
Added to the mix, both the country club Republicans and Democrats support illegal immigrant amnesty as the Republicans see access to cheap labor increasing profits and the Democrats see an increase in their voter rolls.
My tack would be:
Cut government taxes, mandates, and regulations.
Eliminate H-1B visas.
Rescind all tax incentives to expand operations/jobs overseas.
Modify Most Favored Nation again eliminating tax advantages to go overseas.
Withdraw from the World Trade Organization and trade as we did pre 1993.
Modify all trade deals so they don't end up as nothing more than labor arbitrage exchanging U.S. jobs for profits. Bear in mind, a Chinese worker earns 10 percent of an American; Indian and Bangkok workers earn 30 percent of an American.
Seal the border, eliminate all magnets attracting illegals here, and fining employers for hiring them.
Reduce social entitlement spending.
In my opinion, reducing the cost of doing business in the U.S. while concurrently making it more expensive overseas is the optimal way for government to encourage the private sector to create jobs. Reaganomics is over. FDR is over. The jobs no longer have to be created in the U.S. due to technology and government policies. We can no longer chase the jobs out the door nor open the door for them to leave. We have one party sacrificing jobs for profit, the other sacrificing jobs to subsidize others.
I hope there's enough population to effect change. I'm not holding my breath.
Bill Josephson
Andover
