Political Irony

2 Comments

1. Jeff wrote:

   Big business is sitting on trillions in cash; we have some of the best tax rates and business-friendly laws in the world; we have the skilled labor force for just about any type of manufacturing; and yet, companies continually go overseas. Either we have to make it more difficult and expensive to work in foreign countries by getting rid of Free Trade, or we have to increase the incentives to work here. I honestly think some big businesses are holding out for the end to the minimum wage.

   There was a story not too long ago about a business owner who said he would not hire anybody until Obama was out of office. So, in other words, he’s keeping his hiring down on purpose for political reasons. Gingrich noted that he thought hiring would spike the moment Obama lost a general election, before any changes were even made legislatively. That tells me that businesses are intentionally keeping their hiring stunted to try and oust Obama.

   Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:40 am | Permalink
2. Arthanyel wrote:

   And while keeping things stunted, we’re still adding 100,000+ jobs per month.

   That said, as I consult with a great many large businesses, I can say that there is no widespread conspiracy to oust Obama – there is widespread angst about the federal government overall. It appears clear that if either party wins a sweeping victory in 2012, there will be MASSIVE changes to the business landscape – and if neither party wins and we still have gridlock, that there will be NO changes of any note for at least 2 more years.

   In that environment, as a businessman, it would be STUPID to place any large bets or spend more money that absolutely necessary. It is much better to wait and see, and then have the cash to make large investments quickly when the future is more defined.

   The scariest thing is that many business people (speaking off the record) will tell you that they don’t like ANY of the outcomes. They don’t like the idea Democrats will “take their money and strangle them with regulations”. They don’t like the idea that Republicans will start “killing off their consumers” by massive layoffs and ending safety nets, and “starving the middle class that buys their products” by letting middle class taxes rise to pay for more tax cuts for the 1%. And they don’t like more gridlock.

   That doesn’t leave many positive options, and we can only hope for some kind of breakthrough.

   Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 11:28 am | Permalink