President Barack Obama recently reached out to American businesses while at the same time lecturing them on what he sees as their shortcomings. He told members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that he hopes to eliminate some burdensome regulations that hold back economic growth. In the same speech, he scolded businesses for not investing more money in the economy to produce more jobs.
It was an odd combination of remarks. How could the president talk about reducing regulation when thousands of pages of new regulations will be required to implement ObamaCare medical "reforms"?
As for companies' unwillingness to invest more of their earnings, the president has unfortunately helped create an uncertain business climate that discourages investment.
He did, reluctantly, go along with extending some Bush-era tax cuts. But he indicated that a big part of that tax relief should end soon.
So companies really do not have the financial predictability they need to invest in new enterprises.
Any business venture is risky, but adding uncertainty over tax policy multiplies the risk needlessly. The fact is, businesses are rightly fearful that in the near future, taxes will be increased, sharply diminishing the return on any investments they might make now. The way to reduce that growth-killing uncertainty is to stop putting artificial time limits on tax relief.
Obama also talks about reducing corporate tax rates, since the United States has among the highest rates in the world -- rates that hurt job growth. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that proposals to cut corporate taxes will get past the Democrat-run Senate. Just "talking" about tax relief doesn't "pay the bills."
The president seems bewildered that businesses aren't rushing to invest heavily in new ventures. But he is not improving the business conditions that encourage investment.