TRAIN ON THE JOB
Andrew Liveris’s book on
how we can bring manufacturing back to America cites a company that interviewed 3,600 people for 100 jobs and hired 47; the others didn’t have the necessary skills. One answer to the skills roadblock comes from the former labor commissioner in Georgia, Michael Thurmond. After job vacancies go unfilled for a certain period of time, the state offers businesses the money to train potential employees themselves. During the training period, the companies don’t become employers, so they don’t have to start paying Social Security taxes or employer benefits. They train people their way, then hire those who succeed as regular employees, reducing the time lag between when a job is advertised and when it is filled.
With unemployment at 9 percent and the real rate of those without full-time work higher, there are 3 million posted job vacancies. Filling them faster could make a big difference.
TEACH SKILLS WE NEED
I’m trying to figure out why job seekers don’t have the skills companies need; why the community colleges and vocational programs, which have done such a great job for America, are not providing more people with the skills to fill these vacancies. Do people just not enroll in the right programs or do they drop out because of the economy? I hope we can find out.
CUT CORPORATE TAXES
It’s true that our corporate rates are the second-highest in the world. But it’s also true that what our corporations actually pay is nowhere near the second-highest percentage of their real income in the world. So I’d be perfectly fine with lowering the corporate tax rates, simplifying the tax code, and saving some money on accountants, but broadening the tax base so that all of them pay a reasonable amount of tax on their profits. That’s what the Bowles-Simpson commission recommended, and it’s the right policy. Lower the rates to be competitive, but reduce the loopholes that cause unfair disparities. We all need to contribute something to help meet our shared challenges and responsibilities, including solving the debt problem.
REDUCE GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
The Obama administration has embarked upon an anti-business, hyper-regulatory, pro-tax agenda that has fueled economic uncertainty and sent the message from the administration that "we want to make it harder for the to create jobs in America."
There is no other conclusion for Obama's unreasonable policies such as the impact of the latest EPA regulations, including the 'Transport Rule,' which could eliminate thousands of jobs, or the ozone regulation that would cost upward of $1 trillion and millions of jobs in the construction industry and in plant operations over the next decade.
If we want to create new jobs, there are several common-sense reforms that the Obama administration must consider. First, the Department of Health and Human Services must eliminate unnecessary reporting requirements placed on hospitals, which could save $4 billion over 5 years. Second, the Internal Revenue Service must streamline its tax reporting requirements, which could save up to 55 million hours in annual paperwork burdens.
Note: In response to Tuesday's announcement, Eric Cantor, in a press release, said, “Today the White House announced the outcome of its government wide review, and the results are underwhelming. Every day, business people and job creators cope with burdensome regulations that have a negative impact on both jobs and our economy, and again the President seems reluctant to do everything in his power to help them.”
Cantor also said the Republicans will be working on their own legislation to reduce regulation on businesses, including repealing “the ‘3 percent withholding rule,’ which serves as an unnecessary tax increase on those who do business with the government,” and, “several of the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed regulations that inhibit jobs in areas as varied as cement and farm dust.”
ENFORCE TRADE LAWS
We lost manufacturing jobs in every one of the eight years after I left office. One of the reasons is that enforcement of our trade laws dropped sharply. Contrary to popular belief, the World Trade Organization and our trade agreements do not require unilateral disarmament. They’re designed to increase the volume of two-way trade on terms that are mutually beneficial. My administration negotiated 300 trade agreements, but we enforced them, too.
Enforcement dropped so much in the last decade because we borrowed more and more money from the countries that had big trade surpluses with us, especially China and Japan, to pay for government spending.
Since they are now our bankers, it’s hard to be tough on their unfair trading practices. This happened because we abandoned the path of balanced budgets 10 years ago, choosing instead large tax cuts especially for higher-income people like me, along with two wars and the senior citizens’ drug benefit. In the history of our republic, it’s the first time we ever cut taxes while going to war.
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/06/19/i...my-stupid.html
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What are the best ways to put Americans back to work in our overly-regulated economy?
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Originally Posted by fiddlerdave
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