5 Things Washington Could Do to Jumpstart Job Creation

Brandon Greife

The debt ceiling debate has come to a merciful (if not ideal) come to an end. What is President Obama to do now? Why, pivot to jobs of course.

Sadly, it didn’t take a crack political mind, insider sources, or ESP to figure out what the White House was planning, you just have to look at history. A pivot to job creation has become Democrats go-to move. In fact, Ben Smith of Politico has identified at least six-other times that the Obama Administration has announced a similar shift.

Despite all the claims of a “laser-like focus” on jobs, the White House has never actually gotten around to it. Instead, apparently unable to walk and chew gum at the same time, he is consistently sidetracked by other things. But after more than two years and seven pivots Americans should begin to wonder whether it is truly an inability to multitask or whether it is simply that the Obama Administration has no idea how to promote job creation in the first place. It is almost as if he opened his Keynesian bag of tricks to discover it contained only one trick – stimulus.

 So while the Administration pivots themselves in circles, here are several actions that Washington could pursue to create the environment needed for job growth:

1. Reduce the regulatory burden on businesses. The Code of Federal Regulations is over 163,000 pages and the Administration has tacked on another 600+ this month alone. The regulatory tidal wave is only predicted to grow as myriad rules are handed down as a result of the health care reform bill and Dodd-Frank. A quick solution would be to pass the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act which would require Congress to take an up-or-down vote on all proposed rules that would have an annual economic impact of $100 million or more.

2. Ratify the pending free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and Korea without making it conditional upon continuation of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. Free trade agreements have contributed to America’s place as the world’s largest exporter. Although the 17 nations covered under our current FTAs represent only 7.5 percent of the world’s non-U.S. gross GDP, they purchase 40 percent of U.S. exports. Passage of further free trade agreements would provide a further boost to U.S. manufacturers, through reduced tariffs, and taxpayers, in lower priced goods – both of which would help to jumpstart our sluggish recovery.

3. Complete approval of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada.  This could be accomplished by Senate passage of HR 1938 (it already sailed through the House), which would expedite a final decision on the permitting process for the Keystone XL pipeline. This pipeline would create an estimated 343,000 American jobs as well as provide an additional 500,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada – our largest and most stable supplier.

4. Encourage safe and responsible domestic energy development. Government inaction and bureaucratic obstructionism has left the approval process for offshore lease sales at a standstill. The implicit “permitorium” has forced rigs to leave our waters, energy exploration to dramatically slow, and investment to flow to other countries. House Republicans have passed multiple pieces of legislation including H.R. 1229, H.R. 1230, and H.R. 1231, to loosen the government’s stranglehold on America’s expansive oil and natural gas deposits. The Senate should move quickly to pass these bills.  

5. Support a repatriation holiday. America’s sky-high corporate tax rate coupled with its outdated use of a worldwide tax system places U.S. businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Although fundamental reform of our corporate tax structure should be on the top of Washington’s to-do list, a repatriation holiday, such as that offered by H.R. 1834 would provide an immediate lift to businesses. The bill, which would allow companies to bring back foreign earnings at a lower tax rate, would allow companies to reduce debt, increase investment, and create jobs.

These few simple ideas, many of which have already passed the House of Representatives, would provide an immediate spark to our economy. If only the Obama Administration would stop pivoting and start focusing on such policies perhaps America could escape its prolonged economic malaise.