Democrats Campaign to Justify Regulation Onslaught

While Democrats Say Their Policies Don’t Cause Job-Destroying Uncertainty, Job Creators Left and Right Beg to Differ

• The Obama administration is undertaking a “pushback” campaign on the idea that uncertainty resulting from a flood of new regulations is holding back job creation.
• The facts on the Democrats’ regulatory rampage speak for themselves. According to revelations in a just-released biography about former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, even the well-known Democrat personally confronted President Obama about his administration’s job-destroying policies.
• Jobs was far from alone in expressing concerns about Democrats’ job-destroying regulatory agenda, as several other business and political leaders have followed suit since him. Instead of making excuses for their job-destroying agenda, Democrats should try curbing their job-destroying policies.

BACKGROUND

The Obama administration is undertaking a “pushback” campaign on the idea that uncertainty resulting from a flood of new regulations is holding back job creation:

OBAMA TREASURY OFFICIAL UNDERTAKING A “PUSHBACK” ON CHARGE THAT “UNCERTAINTY” CAUSED BY THEIR POLICIES IS DESTROYING JOBS: “FIRST LOOK: ‘UNCERTAINTY’ PUSHBACK – Treasury’s Dr. Jan Eberly, recently confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, writes in a blog post going up later this morning that there is NO evidence to support the argument that ‘uncertainty’ over regulatory changes is holding back job growth. The post is the first in what will be a series of ‘deep dives’ into economic data by Treasury officials looking to punch holes in political rhetoric.” (Ben White, Politico’s “Morning Money”, 10/24/2011)

The facts on the Democrats’ regulatory rampage speak for themselves. According to revelations in a just-released biography about former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, even the well-known Democrat personally confronted President Obama about his administration’s job-destroying policies:

JOBS TOLD OBAMA HE WAS “HEADED FOR A ONE-TERM PRESIDENCY” AND TO BE MORE BUSINESS-FRIENDLY: “ ‘You’re headed for a one-term presidency,’ he told Obama at the start of their meeting, insisting that the administration needed to be more business-friendly.” (“Steve Jobs Biography Reveals He Told Obama, ‘You’re Headed for a One-Term Presidency,’” The Huffington Post, 10/20/2011)

APPLE CEO SINGLED OUT “REGULATIONS AND UNNECESSARY COSTS” AS HURTING JOB CREATION IN THE U.S.: “As an example, Jobs described the ease with which companies can build factories in China compared to the United States, where ‘regulations and unnecessary costs’ make it difficult for them.” (“Steve Jobs Biography Reveals He Told Obama, ‘You’re Headed for a One-Term Presidency,’” The Huffington Post, 10/20/2011)

Jobs was far from alone in expressing concerns about Democrats’ job-destroying regulatory agenda, as several other business and political leaders have followed suit since him. Instead of making excuses for their job-destroying agenda, Democrats should try curbing their job-destroying policies:

RETIRING BLUE DOG DEM DENNIS CARDOZA (D-CA): REPUBLICANS “ARE RIGHT” ABOUT OBAMA’S HOSTILE REGULATIONS: “I think he needs to really focus on what’s happening on main street America. He needs to walk up and down the small towns that I represent or towns like mine and talk to shopkeepers and let them tell him how directly difficult it is to do business in America these days and what they think needs to be done. I got to tell you, the regulatory reform issues that my folks tell me about are real. The criticism that the Republicans say about it’s too tough to do business in this country, they are right. We need to figure out how to make it easier on them.” (Remarks from Rep. Dennis Cardoza, MSNBC’S “Daily Rundown,” 10/24/11)

GALLUP: SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS NAME REGULATION AS TOP CONCERN:“Small-business owners in the United States are most likely to say complying with government regulations (22%) is the most important problem facing them today, followed by consumer confidence in the economy (15%) and lack of consumer demand (12%).” (Dennis Jacobe, “Gov’t Regulations at Top of Small-Business Owners’ Problem List,” Gallup, 10/24/2011) 

OBAMA RELATIONS WITH BUSINESS “GONE COLD” BECAUSE OF REGULATORY RAMPAGE: “The Obama administration’s push to mend its relationship with business has gone cold only six months into the effort.

“Complaints abound about the regulations pouring out of federal agencies to implement the federal healthcare and financial regulation laws.” (Bernie Becker and Peter Schroeder, “President Obama’s Charm Offensive Fails to Win Over Business Groups,” The Hill, 7/25/2011)

“MORE SHOW THAN SUBSTANCE TO OBAMA’S EFFORTS”: “Yet business still isn’t feeling the love, and suggests there’s more show than substance to Obama’s efforts.

“ ‘They’re not even aware that the administration says they’re focusing on small business, because they don’t feel the changes,’ said Cynthia Magnuson, a spokeswoman for the National Federation of Independent Business.” (Bernie Becker and Peter Schroeder, “President Obama’s Charm Offensive Fails to Win Over Business Groups,”The Hill, 7/25/2011) 

“ONEROUS REGULATION” FROM DEMOCRATS HURTING SMALL BUSINESS ACCESS TO LOANS: “Banks remain tight with credit, making it hard for businesses to secure loans.

“‘Small businesses still can’t get access to capital — everybody’s just sort of trying to keep their heads above water,’ said Frank Knapp, president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce.

“But even when it comes to banks, blame shifts back to the administration, underscoring the challenge for Obama. Banks point to regulations emanating from the Wall Street reform bill.

“ ‘The banking regulatory pendulum swung way too far in the direction of overregulation — onerous regulation, really,’ said Paul Merski, chief economist for the Independent Community Bankers of America.” (Bernie Becker and Peter Schroeder, “President Obama’s Charm Offensive Fails to Win Over Business Groups,” The Hill, 7/25/2011)

HOME DEPOT CO-FOUNDER BERNIE MARCUS: “OVERREGULATION” IS “CHOKING THESE JOB-CREATING BUSINESSES BEFORE THEY CAN GET OFF THE GROUND”: “Overregulation, unfair taxes, and new mandates, like the controversial healthcare bill, are choking these job-creating businesses before they can get off the ground. … They need relief from the alphabet soup of regulations that stifles them and therefore chokes hiring.

“From the EPA to the FDA, from the IRS to Sarbanes Oxley, regulations disproportionally affect the smallest firms, drowning America’s entrepreneurs in red tape. According to a study published last year by the Small Business Administration, firms with fewer than 20 employees spend 36 percent more per employee than large firms. Regulations, on average, cost small firms $10,585 per employee each year: $4,120 to comply with economic regulations, $4,101 to comply with environmental regulations, $1,585 to comply with complex tax rules, and $781 to comply with OSHA and homeland security regulations. In fact, more than 144,000 pages of regulations strangle small and large businesses alike. Congress must provide these innovators a break.” (Bernie Marcus, “True Job Creators Need a Voice,” Real Clear Politics, 6/15/2011)

SARA LEE CEO: OBAMA REGS PREVENT ADVERTISING A TURKEY SANDWICH ON TV: “Standing next to a picture of a wholesome-looking turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and swiss cheese, Sara Lee CEO Christopher J. Fraleigh said Tuesday that new rules proposed by the Obama Administration would prohibit him from advertising that sandwich during the Superbowl.” (Abdon M. Pallasch, “Roskam, Business Leaders Bash Obama’s New Regulations,” The Chicago Sun-Times, 8/30/2011)

NFIB: FARMERS SUFFERING UNDER WASHINGTON’S “GREAT REGULATION RUSH”: “The nation’s small farmers, ranchers and growers not only weathered the Great Recession, they had a record year in 2010. But can they survive the Great Regulation Rush coming out of Washington?” (Adam Wren, “The Great Regulation Rush,”National Federation of Independent Businesses, May/June 2011) 

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: OBAMA’S REGULATORY REVIEW IS “DISINGENUOUS”: “Bill Kovacs, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vice president for environment, technology and regulatory affairs, said in a blog post that Mr. Sunstein’s claims of fewer regulations in the Obama administration are ‘disingenuous.’” (David Boyer, “Employers Skeptical of Obama Vow of Less Red Tape,” The Washington Times, 7/4/2011)

BUT DEMOCRATS REFUSE TO BUDGE ON THE REGULATIONS STILL IN THE PIPELINE:

NEW STUDY: NEW AND PENDING EPA RULES WILL DESTROY 1.65 MILLLION JOBS: “Over the period from 2012 to 2020, about 183,000 jobs per year are predicted to be lost on net due to the effects of the four regulations. The cumulative effects mean that over the period from 2012 to 2020, about 1.65 million job-years of employment would be lost.” (“Potential Impacts of EPA Air, Coal Combustion Residuals, and Cooling Water Regulations,” NERA Economic Consulting, September 2011)

4,257 NEW REGULATIONS IN THE WORKS, MORE THAN 200 WILL COST OVER $100 MILLION ANNUALLY—15% MORE REGULATIONS THAN LAST YEAR.“Appropriate and responsible regulations play an important policymaking role. Yet the Obama administration has turned rule-making into an assault on American businesses and the jobs they create. Right now, 4,257 new regulations are in the works, 219 of which will cost over $100 million annually — 15 percent more than last year.” (Editorial, “How Obama’s Rules Hold Back Chicago Business,” The Chicago Sun-Times, 8/30/2011)

WHITE HOUSE “STRONGLY OPPOSES” GOP EFFORT TO MAKE EPA STOP DESTROYING JOBS: “The White House Wednesday said it strongly opposes a House bill that would delay several Environmental Protection Agency rules on air pollution, setting up another showdown over Republican-led efforts to postpone the agency’s agenda.” (Ryan Tracy, “White House Opposes House Bill to Delay EPA Rules,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/21/2011)