As we all know, our economy is in recession. Our businesses are being threatened due to a credit freeze, and unemployment is rising. Our government is spending trillions of dollars it doesn't have, which devalues the dollar. Banks teeter on the edge of collapse. Our automakers are losing money. The airline industry is barely surviving. Jobs are moving overseas. We have lost millions of jobs. The picture is pretty bleak.
John McCain's response is to cut the business income tax rate from 35% to 25%, to make our businesses more competitive. Reasonable. This is a job creating measure. After all, without jobs, it doesn't much matter what other financial steps our government takes, because without jobs, wealth and revenue will not be generated. Without jobs, Americans will have nothing. Without jobs, poverty will rise. Without jobs, the government itself will not be funded at adequate levels. Without jobs, we fail as a society.
The Obama campaign has responded to McCain's business tax cuts by calling them a giveaway to the richest and most powerful, and a giveaway to the oil companies, even though McCain's tax cuts are across the board. Such anti-business rhetoric coming from Obama and other Democrats, especially during such harsh economic times, is a sure sign that an Obama presidency will not be friendly to business, which in turn means an Obama presidency will not be conducive to job creation. There are many examples of this found in Obama's own policy prescriptions for business.
Obama will increase the cost of doing business in America in many ways. Always remember, when the costs of doing business rise, the negative consequences ripple thoughout our society. Increased business costs cause either higher consumer prices, reduced business profits, or job losses. That is a simple economic reality. All three of those negative consequences affect not just Wall Street, but Main Street as well. In fact, they affect those lowest on the economic ladder the most. The millionaires will survive the hard economic times. It's the rest of us that will be harmed
Here are a few specifics (though not nearly an exhaustive list) on how Obama The Business Killer will kill business.
Obama says he wants to cut taxes for 95% of Americans, but Obama's net tax policy is for a huge tax increase. That means the other 5% of Americans, those evil rich people, will get large tax increases from Barack Obama and friends. Obama originally defined rich as anyone making over $250,000, but that was only for married people filing jointly. Single taxpayers have a "rich" threshhold of either $150,000 or $200,000, depending on which figure Obama ultimately chooses. So, who are these evil rich people ? They are the business owners of America. That's who Obama will be taxing. This includes millions of small business owners who file their taxes thru the personal income tax system, who will all be taxed at higher rates. Obama will punish business at a time in American history when business is struggling. That is not wise, but to Obama, it is an issue of "fairness." In addition, Obama will lift the Social Security payroll tax cap, which means businesses will pay an additional 7% in payroll taxes for any employee earning over $90,000. That's more business burden. Obama also wants to increase the capital gains tax rate, which will stifle business investment exactly at a time when America is dying for business capital. That goes beyond unwise and into the realm of stupidity. When ABC's Charles Gibson pointed out to Obama that capital gains tax revenues actually rose when the rate was cut, Obama brushed it aside and said capital gains increases were also a matter of "fairness."
The Small Business Association recently reported that 80% of all new American jobs are coming from small businesses. The Obama campaign says that most small businesses do not make more than the $250,000 (or $150,000-$200,000) threshhold, and therefore will not be taxed more. That is correct, most don't make that much. ONLY THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES MAKE THAT MUCH. And it's the most successful businesses that hire the most employees, that create the most jobs. Those are the ones Obama would punish. In other words, if your business is struggling along, barely making it, Obama's tax policy won't hurt you. Only when you succeed, expand, and start creating jobs for others will Obama's tax policy hurt you. Not exactly a brilliant economic growth strategy there, Barack. The Senate Finance Committee reports that of those who file income taxes in the highest two tax brackets, three out of four are the small business owners Obama wants to tax.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the National Federation of Independent Business says only 10% of small businesses with one to nine employees will be hit by Obama’s tax increase. However, almost 20% of the small businesses that employ from 10 to 19 people will get nailed, and 50% of small businesses with over 20 employees get punished. The more people you employ, the harder you will be hit by Obama's tax increases. That may be "fairness" in Obama's world, but it's anti-business and anti-growth in mine. And did I mention we are in a recession, teetering on economic collapse ? Duh, Obama.
John McCain said we shouldn't raise taxes on ANYONE in an economic slowdown. That's the smart move. We have history to tell us how right that idea is. Herbert Hoover raised taxes and erected import tariffs just before the Great Depression. Hoover is widely blamed for making the depression far worse. FDR raised taxes in the midst of the Great Depression, and created a second "depression within a depression" in 1937 and 1938. History teaches us this lesson. Barack Obama wants to ignore it, all in the name of "fairness", or "spreading the wealth around", as he calls it. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Obama's health care plan would also mandate that business cover it's employees, or pay a fine to the government. Some small businesses would be excluded, but the rest wouldn't. This adds yet more burden on the business community.
Next up on Obama's business killer agenda is the Employee Free Choice Act, which will remove the secret ballot provision from union voting. This will allow unions to bully and intimidate their way into unionizing shops that otherwise would remain non-union. With unionization comes higher wages, which is good for the employees, but higher wages is another burden on business, that will inhibit job creation and make it harder for the union business to compete in the global market (see: American automakers). Calling the removal of the secret ballot, a founding democratic principle, "free choice" is like calling burglary a "charitable donation." Removing the secret ballot is anti-free choice. And let's not forget that the unions are among Obama's biggest contributors. Looks like they'll get their money's worth.
Change We Can Believe In ? Not to me. Not to business. Not for America. Most of all, NOT NOW.
