Mercnbeth
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The President's job fair is a good idea, but I don't think it's what's needed right now. It can't accomplish much. It can not address quantitative or qualitative issues fundamental to the economy's problems. I question if the philosophy that this Administration has locked themselves into allows for any pragmatic action.
First, as much as many including me, would like to see it, you can not cut taxes. Taxation isn't the concern for businesses or money sources, the deficit is much more troubling. The cuts that have to occur are in spending and entitlements. Fundamentally counter to the Administration's and Congress stated philosophy and position of taking as many decisions away from individuals and abdicating them to a nanny government. Cutting the bureaucracy and entitlements by 20% across the board would be a good start. There is enough duplicity and waste, especially if overlapping Federal and State programs are scrutinized.
The problem with that idea is that initially that would create a whole new set of unemployed bureaucrats. There isn't much need in the world for a few million extra paper pushers accustomed to full pension and paid benefits for life upon retirement after 20 years. Problem #1 about affecting any meaningful change. Here you have a two problems in one. What a choice? An unproductive drain on tax revenue or and a unemployed work force used to sitting on their asses all day. Maybe implementing a plan which would freeze on all new hiring and not replacing any employees for 10 years or so would work.
But the biggest problem I see with this 'summit' is the message it conveys. "We don't know what to do - how about you?"
The economy as an entity is empathic to that kind of sentiment. What is perceived and believed impacts results much more than reality. For instance, in my lifetime I've never had a cost of funds so low. 'Prime' is 3.25%. The real borrowing rate is 0.25% - practically zero. Yet nobody, including me, is lining up to get some of that cheap money to expand. Why? Because the unknown supersedes any idea for implementing growth. Too many business meetings I've attended cover why we can't do things versus how and why we can. To a man, its not high taxes and regulations that scare us, its the lack of specific ideas and a plan coming from Washington that is keeping money on the side-lines.
They announce their experts say the unemployment rate would never reach 8.5% - it's 10.2% and rising. They proudly announce how many jobs the stimulus program created until somebody gets a calculator and determines they cost of $92,000/job (Biden's number). They rely on the same job justifying bureaucrats to report the effectiveness of the job stimulus, but when audited those numbers prove to be flat out lies. They loudly announce no stimulus money will go to pay executive bonuses, then quietly pay it out in the face of contractually reality. They bail out bankrupt GM promising that it will curtail job layoffs and plant closings, only to have plants close. The bail out Chrysler on the promise of creating a viable 'electric car'; only to have Chrysler shut down the operation early this month. From this same leadership we expect a viable plan and action?
To get elected the President painted himself into too many corners. Ranging from "I'm closing GITMO", committing to troop escalation in Afghanistan, 'Cap & Trade', to health care. Whether any or all of these ideas are good or bad they all cost money, money the US doesn't have and the remaining tax payers can't afford. Reality is affecting the Administration's ability to keep his promises at a time when the constituency that got him elected is getting more and more impatient waiting for the entitlement he promised.
The solution is to get government out of the way. Point to the examples of that creating problems in the past, but point to one government initiated solution. Government jobs drain the economy, they don't' improve it. Now, at least for a time, you have to generate government revenue that stays on the positive side of the ledger. The only way to do so is by creating an atmosphere fertile for it to occur, without spending any more tax money to do so. Go out and ask business people what they want most from the government. The majority of them will say - stay out of the way. I don't think that idea will come out of the jobs summit.
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RE: Thoughts on President Obama's Job Summit? - 
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