The Bureau of Labor Statistics this week
reported a significant drop in job openings, indicating America’s employers are hesitant to invest in and expand their businesses. Adding insult to injury, economists at Stanford University and the University of Chicago released a new chart on Tuesday showing
economic uncertainty has shot up in recent months, a trend these economists have previously
noted may stem from costly federal policies:
When businesses are uncertain about taxes, health-care costs and regulatory initiatives, they adopt a cautious stance. Because it is costly to make a hiring or investment mistake, many companies will wait for calmer times to expand. If too many businesses wait, the recovery never takes off.
Instead of changing course and working with Republicans to reduce federal burdens and provide certainty to our nation’s job creators, the Obama administration continues to advance policies that discourage employers and harm job growth. Here are just two examples of federal policies that are stalling our economic recovery and having a chilling effect on America’s workforce:
A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE
President Obama’s healthcare law continues to wreak havoc on job growth, bogging employers down with rising costs and new regulations.
- Despite the president’s promise the law would lower premiums, countless reports have shown premiums continue to rise. A recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation reports 39 percent of agents expect premium increases between 11 and 20 percent in 2012. As a result of rising costs, employers aren’t hiring.
A recent Gallup poll revealed 48% of small business owners cite the potential cost of health care regulations in their decision not to hire additional workers.
- The Obama administration has issued thousands of pages of regulations connected with the new law, making it nearly impossible for employers to plan for the future and create new jobs.
- Employers continue to report the negative impact ObamaCare has on their ability to create jobs. At a House Education and the Workforce Committee field hearing earlier this year, Manufacturer & Business Association Director of Government Affairs Lori Joint said the law is causing “many employers to hold off on plans for growth and investment.” Another employer in Indiana testified certain provisions in the new law will make it “almost impossible for an entrepreneur to start a new business and hire.”
AN AGGRESSIVE AND JOB-DESTROYING LABOR BOARD
The Obama National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has pushed forward numerous initiatives that continue to burden employers and perpetuate uncertainty in the workplace.
- In 2011 the NLRB filed a legal complaint against The Boeing Company for creating new jobs in South Carolina instead of Washington state. The NLRB’s attempt to tell a private company where it can and cannot locate jobs threatened thousands of jobs in South Carolina and had a chilling effect on job creators across the country. In fact, a survey by the National Association of Manufacturers found a majority of employers surveyed said the NLRB’s complaint could negatively impact their hiring decisions.
- The Obama NLRB proposed an ambush election scheme that significantly shortens the timeline for union elections, restricting employers’ free speech and workers’ free choice. Employers will have as little as 10 days to navigate all the complexities of union elections, even though a mere outline of NLRB election procedures is more than 400 pages long. As a result, small businesses will be forced to hire lawyers and human resource professionals just to ensure they appropriately respond to a union organizing campaign. Stifling important rights in the workplace and increasing burdens on small businesses will not put more Americans back to work.
- The NLRB’s Specialty Healthcare decision empowers union bosses to gerrymander the workplace, which will force some employers to be constantly engaged in costly labor disputes and negotiations. As labor costs rise due to these ongoing disputes, employers will have fewer resources to put toward job creation.
It’s no wonder America’s employers are struggling to create new jobs – the Obama administration continues to advance punitive policies and reckless regulatory initiatives that hurt businesses and drag down our nation’s economic recovery. As part of the Plan for America’s Job Creators, the House has passed more than 30 jobs bills to help spur economic growth and job creation. It’s time for the president to join us.
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