This Labor Day weekend, far too many Washingtonians need work. The jobless numbers in too many counties across our state remains persistently high. When one in 10 people walking down the streets of most cities and towns in Washington are drawing unemployment benefits, we need to do everything we can to stimulate job growth, restore consumer confidence, and spur investments in the private sector. Keep in mind those unemployment numbers do not include people who have given up the job search.
Unfortunately, the news on the job and economic front is not good and it comes from a state where some parts of it are doing a heck of a lot better than others. The economy is moving ahead at a snail's pace and is so volatile the least little bump can derail it. Thankfully, Boeing, Costco, Microsoft, and some other Washington companies are holding their own (for now) in these dismal times.
Our state's revenue forecaster Dr. Arun Raha said Friday the bad times will continue. Even though he doesn't expect us to fall back into a recession, he claims it will feel like one.
That is not comforting considering that Raha is expected to tell Gov. Gregoire and state lawmakers later this month that our revenue forecast is slipping again. That alone may trigger additional budget cuts.
Nationally, the news is bleak as well, but what is most disturbing is President Obama and Democrats are forging head with eliminating the so-called "Bush Tax Cuts", expensive cap and trade legislation to control greenhouse gases, and card check legislation which eliminates the secret ballot elections in the workplace over whether or not to unionize. That's on top of the costly health care reforms jammed down Americans' throats earlier this year. And, those don't include all of the new regulations coming from EPA, Dept. of Labor and other federal agencies which add new cost levels to American business and industries.
All of those added taxes, regulations and new compliance fees together and they only further drain money from the private job-producing sector and families simply struggling to pay their bills. Simply put that added costs whether they are from local, state or the federal government are job-killers! Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to register with those in charge in our nation's capitol today.
The best thing the President can do for American workers and private sector employers this Labor Day is to stop, step back and ask those people creating the jobs what he and Congress can do to help them spur the economy, bring the $13 trillion in investment capitol off the sidelines, put people back to work in the private taxpaying sector, and put enough money into our citizens pockets so they can start buying homes and cars. It is all about restoring confidence in what has made America great!
U.S. Chamber of Commerce economist Martin Regalia said it best last week in the other Washington. "the tax increases advocated by President Obama would essentially kill any chance for an economic rebound." They are a bullet to the head of our struggling economy.
Perhaps the President, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid ought to do a little more listening to struggling families and businesses instead of telling them what is best for them. Now that would be a real Labor Day to remember if that happened.
Don C. Brunell, President (DonB@awb.org)
