Morning Bell: Cutting Recovery Off at the Knees

Conn Carroll / July 14, 2009

President Barack Obama travels to Macomb Community College in Michigan today where he will unveil $12 billion in aid to the nation’s community colleges. According to Politico, the President’s message will be that “in a competitive global economy, the country’s economic viability depends upon the education and skills of its workers, who will increasingly need to have college experience.” True enough, but who exactly does the President believe will be hiring all of these workers?

The unemployment rate in Michigan is more than 14% and the state is projected to lose more than 310,000 jobs in 2009. A recent study by the Kaufman Foundation found that small businesses have led America out of its last seven recessions, generating about two of every three new jobs during a recovery. Unfortunately, the President’s top domestic priorities are set to cut off small business growth at the knees.

Health Care: Our nation desperately needs health care reform that lets Americans begin reducing exploding health care costs. The best way to do this is to reform the tax code to move away from employer-sponsored health care and remove regulations that are preventing a true health insurance market from functioning. But the President does not want this change. He wants to build off the failed models of Medicare and Medicaid that got us into this mess in the first place. Worse, President Obama is set to fund his massive expansion of government-run health care on the backs of small businesses. The Senate wants to pay for their health care plan with an employer mandate that will cost small businesses hundreds of billions of dollars a year and the House wants to pay for their health plan with a “surtax” on individuals with gross incomes above $280,000. Problem is, six of every ten who earn that much are small business owners, operators, and investors. (more…)