Obama Caving To Big Business – Again

July 13, 2010

Last month at the Business Roundtable meeting we had Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon, doing what big business love doing when they are responsible for wrongful “deaths” — blaming the government. In this case, for high unemployment. Now, just one month later, President Obama is asking that same Business Roundtable what he can do to get businesses to hire. What he’s doing is the same thing he’s done before — reacting the wrong way to criticism.

Obama asked business leaders to identify specific regulations that they believe are obstacles to private investment creating jobs. What he got was the same thing he got from Republicans he invited to the White House to discuss differences on health care reform — all or nothing! In other words, unless Obama agrees to completely cave in to every single demand, there will be no deal.

The 49-page report from the Business Roundtable calls for, in affect, virtually doing away with anything and everything that’s not beneficial to the business world. If you look close, it reads like a mafia hit list.

Among the “things to kill” are:

• FCC controls on broadband Internet
• EPA regulation of greenhouse gases
• Increased taxes on foreign earnings
• Shareholder rights to nominate directors
• New requirements on derivatives trading
• Secret ballots in union elections
• Damages for pay discrimination
• New healthcare rules
• Restrictions on drilling

Businesses also want all trade restrictions lifted. That is, trades coming into the country. They have little concerned about out-going trades. That’s because we have little to send out. Our current trade deficit is averaging about $44 billion each month and rising. What American businesses want is no restrictions on importing their goods manufactured in foreign countries — at slave wages — to the world’s largest market.

Here’s the deal: Businesses are going do what they need to do to stay alive. But if they can get by without any hiring until after the November elections, that’s exactly what they will do. To begin hiring now would reduce unemployment which would benefit the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress. And businesses don’t want that. They want Republicans back in control of Congress and a Republican President in 2012.

Elizabeth Sherman got it right:

 “Corporate executives excuse their inexcusable refusal to hire more workers and invest in new products and technologies with the tired old saw that it’s all the government’s fault”. [bold added]