Eric Cantor: Not Washington’s Role to ‘Jack Up the Economy’
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said at a jobs forum Monday that Washington is shackling growth-oriented entrepreneurs and frustrating bipartisan efforts to spur job growth by stoking class warfare.
Washington should focus on creating business-oriented policies, he said, but “it’s not Washington’s role to somehow pick another way to go and jack up the economy.”
Cantor said that he and Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), pegged early by leadership as an up-and-comer in the 2010 freshman class, would be introducing a bill to give a 20 percent tax cut to small businesses.
“That sends a signal that Washington is really trying to encourage small-business activity,” Cantor said at the YG Network Summit on economic growth and job creation in the 21st century at DC’s W Hotel.
“The goal isn’t really as much to protect the citizen as to unleash the individual,” Scott said. “What are the remedies we can bring to the table? Most of the remedies that business owners want have nothing to do with Washington.”
“We can destroy jobs,” Scott stressed. “We simply cannot create jobs.” But legislators can bring forth bills that help entrepreneurs “move the ball forward,” he said.
Revolution Chairman and CEO Steve Case urged greater bipartisan cooperation on the Hill to spur business growth, but Cantor countered that both sides of the aisle clearly have said they want growth. “It’s just the words have not matched the actions and we’re trying to force that,” the congressman said, noting that efforts at bipartisanship have been stymied by “the sort of rhetoric that has been so omnipresent in this town” — pitting rich against poor.
“Successful people can help people who are not,” Cantor said, urging that Washington “set aside that sort of nonsense” that takes the “very dangerous” route of stoking class warfare.
“It really has been much more about dividing than multiplying,” he said. “When Washington says, no, I want to tax you because you’re too successful … that’s anti-growth.”
Scott said cross-aisle negotiating should only go so far as both parties do have ideological differences. “The Keystone pipeline is a wonderful area for us to start the discussion,” he said.
“I used to be a Democrat, too,” said Tom Stemberg, who founded Staples in 1986. “Then I started a business.”
This was the first event of the YG Network, sharing its name with the Young Guns Program helmed by Cantor, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) that helped propel Republicans back to a House majority in 2010. YG Network President John Murray said that the group would hold a number of events through the year and beyond the election to drive debate.
The federal government has been planting needless obstacles in the path of free markets and free enterprise for over 110 years now. The Republicans need to differentiate themselves from the Dems by clarly articulating what they will do to remedy the government’s anti business policies. The young guns need to be specific and offer clear contrast. A successful presidential nominee needs to be on the same page.
I would recommend they start out by giving the EPA and Department of Labor a very restricted role in the future of governing our economy. There should also be a substantial reduction in the size of the federal government overall. I can think of about 15 federal agencies that need their regulatory authority cut way back.
Fed government doesn’t drill oil. Do away with department of Energy, so they won’t get in the way of others drilling for oil.
The federal government shouldn’t run parks (outside the district of Columbia). Do away with the department of the Interior. Relations with the various indian tribes should be developed by the states within which they live.
The federal government shouldn’t regulate education. Do away with the department of Education (and return the department of defense schools to the department of defense).
The federal government shouldn’t regulate labor. Labor isn’t a commodity. Every worker brings unique skills and talents. Labor is not commerce. Do away with the department of Labor.
The federal government shouldn’t regulate housing or cities. Do away with HUD.
The federal government shouldn’t regulate health services. Do away with the HHS.
The federal government shouldn’t regulate Agriculture. The Pigford case demonstrated that Agriculture is not capable of being fairly regulated by the federal government. Do away with the department of Agriculture. The council of Rabbis has regulated food production for a long time, and if food inspection is needed, third parties can have food inspected.
Convert all wireless to spread spectrum, and eliminate the FCC.
The federal government has no business regulating recreational drugs, eliminate the DEA.
The federal government has no business regulating alcohol, tobacco, or firearms, eliminate the ATF.
The federal government HAS the responsibility to print a common currency and should do so, eliminate the Federal Reserve.
I’m an engineer in the wireless world. It ain’t that simple. Throwing around a buzzword you picked up (and don’t understand) won’t solve complex issues.
What we NEED is a constitutional amendment permitting such a thing as the FCC, but carefully limiting its power to merely technical issues.
Electromagnetic waves do not respect state or national borders, nor will “the market” solve all problems. Mankind has a legitimate need for government. This is one of those places where we DO need some regulation.
We NEED a technical referee at the national level.
What we do NOT need is a politicized agency that thinks it has a mandate to pick winners and losers in the technology race.
The FCC ran much better when commissioners were chosen from the engineering ranks, instead of being political hacks who are chosen to advance an agenda.
I agree. The FCC is needed to allocate frequencies, and regulate enough to prevent interference between broadcasters. But frequencies should be allocated solely by market auction, and once auctioned off should become the permanent property of the auction winner, and able to be sold to another without the consent of the FCC. And most importantly, the FCC should have no authority at all to regulate content, and no authority at all to determine who is allowed to buy a frequency. Once spectrum has been auctioned off, it belongs to the purchaser, no more BS about the public airwaves. They should be treated exactly as if some public land had been purchased by private owners.
Great ideas. Now let’s see if they can get something tangible and meaningful done.
Yes, the challenge is creating more small businesses but the objective should be to LET them to grow. A 20% reduction on small business taxes would unleash some of that growth, but then government needs to get out of the way, and stay out of the way.
The existing regulatory and tax burden, coupled with the constant threats/promises from the Obama administration that MORE regulation and MORE taxes are coming down the pike have forced all businesses, but particularly small and micro businesses, to pull back on the throttle in an effort to wait it out.
Any R candidate with two gray cells to rub together should be talking to this group to cull the best ideas and create a simple, focused small business growth policy plan.
“I used to be a Democrat, too,” said Tom Stemberg, who founded Staples in 1986. “Then I started a business.”
Exactly. Think it’s accidental that Democratic policies make it hard to run a business?
So if you’ve been strangling the economy until it turns purple and you relax your grip until the color starts to come back, can you take credit for stimulating it? Sounds like a re-election plan to me.
If they don’t pick another “winner,” how will they get their insider-trades in and profit from it?
“Stemberg blamed onerous regulations for quashing business growth, noting that a Republican president should start by repealing ObamaCare and working down from there.”
Repealing Obamacare is the key. If we lose this as an issue in the upcoming election we are done. Or at least our businesses are done. Even without Obamacare our businesses are killed by thousands of new Federal regulations each year. But Obamacare will make us drown in those regulations. Large corporations will have to hire armies of staff people just to deal with the regulations and the harm this will do on small businesses will be unimaginable because they don’t have the money to hire huge staffs of people to take care of this nonsense. Stop the regulations and Obamacare, before they stop us for good.
“It’s almost as if this town wants to micromanage … in order to wipe out any risk,” Cantor said.
There is no “almost” to it. Entrapreneurs expect and understand risk; politicians do not. The vast majority of legislation and bureaucracy today is an attempt to eliminate risk from everyone’s life. Try as we might, though, we will never be able to legislate perfection.
To pluck on my favorite harp: Government should be the referees and private enterprise the natural resource of prosperity, the players.
What we have is referees who are in the game, investing our tax payer capital, and writing and rewriting the rules of the game as they play with everyone else.
These referees who are players can and would write the regulations so that not only do they get a piece of the profits, they can win the entire game by taking over the industries. They make take over the industry either whole hog or by slow strangulation as mentioned by Porkov #5 above.
The division between the player and the referees must be made distinct, including legislation which excludes the referees from overt participation in the game. Of course, he who writes the rules can entitle himself from following the rules which gives supremacy to politicians over we the people.
Government agents are skilled at spending other peoples money, have no need for return on investment, give themselves tenure, and know how to climb the power-success ladder.
The signs of recovery (including the slightly lower unemployment rate) are not sustainable:
1. The stimulus package money has now run out, and no more will be forthcoming.
2. GM and Chrysler were already bailed out once. Even if that gave a temporary shot in the arm to the MI economy, it’s over and it can’t happen twice.
3. With signs of recovery, the Federal Reserve will no longer pursue any more “quantitative easing” (i.e., spending money).
So whatever recovery we’ve seen is artificial, propped up by the stimulus package, the bailout of GM and Chrysler, and two rounds of Fed quantitative easing (QE1 and QE2). But now that’s all gone, and now we’ll see what the economy of the U.S. is like without those artificial crutches.
+1 to DonM and JustAl.
A 20% tax cut to small business isn’t enough. How about 50%?
Better yet, eliminate all of the existing federal income tax code and replace it with a simple consumption tax. Abolish the IRS.
Tie this to a balanced budget amendment.
A strict term limit amendment for elected offices which also term limits employees of the federal government to no more than 15 years of federal employment in a lifetime, with the exception of active duty and reserve military personnel.
Do away with all federal employee retirement programs and remove the investment limits on IRAs, 401ks, etc.
Prohibit ANY federal investment in the private sector economy beyond purchase of goods and services to be directly used by the federal government.
Any law passed by Congress must include a reference to the specific section of the Constitution that provides authority for the law.
Eric Cantor, the one major politician who has been going out of his way to stymie the economy is now trying to help it grow? Does this ring a bell of a re-election campaign? Eric, do us all a favor, we are NOT buying into your re-election campaign! You should have done this at your inception into the House, not during a re-election year. America would be dumb to buy into all of this.
I for one share that same sentiment. This individual was one of the biggest obstructionist in the House and delayed a debt ceiling debate on whether we would pay our bills on time, without adding the tax cuts for the fortunate few. What did that resolved? Only a downgrade from Standard & Poor from AAA credit rating to AA+. As the words of Sarah Palin goes, “Thanks but no thanks, Eric. Not this time. We cannot be this complacent in rooting you out.”
John,
I think you meant to say that he delayed a debt ceiling debate on whether we would pay our bills on time, unless the tax cuts for the fortunate few were added.
At any rate, I agree with both of you that I smell a snake from a mile away.
Twice in the article, Rep. Cantor was credited with decrying the evils of class warfare, while the primary policy proposal the article noted was a tax cut proposal targeted at small business.
If you want to understand why Republicans can’t seem to win any arguments….
1. What’s wrong with denouncing “class warfare rhetoric”?
2. What’s wrong with a small business tax cut?
3. I would note that in 2010 the Republicans “won a lot of arguments”.
Washington should focus on creating business-oriented policies
And what does Washington know about “business-oriented policies”? How many of them have worked extensively in the Private Sector as something other than a Lawyer-leech? How many of them have actually created value instead of simply taking it from somebody else? How many of them know somebody who actually works in the Private Sector, other than their good buddies the Lobbyists? Hey, maybe that’s the 1% Club we’ve been looking for!
The problem that Cantor will never admit is that all those past “business-oriented polices” are the problem. You stimulate one business, you kill 5 others… Oops! Oh well, more opportunity for stimulus legislation! We don’t need any new legislation, just repeal everything passed in the last 100 years and we’ll be good to go. Call a “Lost Legislative Century”.
This is why we have all this bureaucracy: “Wealth in a free market economy is based above all on price competition. In contrast, the superclass’s wealth is based on political and bureaucratic control over markets. No such control can withstand price competition. Price competition is the acid that undermines every elite that is based on money.” Gary North
http://lewrockwell.com/north/north1095.html
The whole article is rambling, conspiritorial and focused on the educational system as the hinge pin of a system that was created so that elites could raise bars to competition. If you bother to read the article, keep in mind Solyndra, Keystone, Buffett. Heck, even Monsanto, Cargill, raw milk and every anti-competitive scheme you can think of. They all fit somehow.
HEY SHERLOCKS
WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT OUR COUNTRY?
Senator William Borah (called an isolationist) said that government had an obligation to protect the citizens of their own country. What was the point of government if it wasn’t to serve the citizens of their country. Borah opposed the League of Nations and later the coming United Nations, which he warned against until his death in 1940. He asked why would the United States want to enter into international treaties and trade agreements that bound Americans, similar to the way Americans were bound before our “War for Independence.” Borah said the globalists in America were seeking to bring the world under a One World System similar to the communist system. In a role reversal, Borah predicted that as Americans lost freedom at home, Americans would be fighting worldwide against people defending their freedom from international control. The socialist / communist One World principles have been in America’s education system for over a century (Deliberate Dumbing Down of America by Charlotte Iserbyt). It’s no wonder Americans coming out of public education today think like “global citizens” and communist central planners and worker bee citizens. Most have no idea what “free enterprise” means.