Andy Puzder knows a thing or two about job creation. As the chief executive of CKE Restaurants, he’s at the helm of 3,150 Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants across the country and around the world.
But, from his perspective, few federal bureaucrats know what he does. That’s why he decided to partner with David Newton, professor of entrepreneurial finance at Westmont College, to write the book, “Job Creation: How It Really Works and Why Government Doesn’t Understand It.” He spoke at Heritage yesterday and sat down with us to talk about his experience in the business world.
“Business is presently being held back by what’s called the uncertainty factor,” Puzder said at The Bloggers Briefing. “There are always certain uncertainties in a business plan. You never know exactly how things are going to work out. But in the current climate, you have absolutely no idea what could happen in the next five years. It’s extremely capricious.”
In particular, businesses lack certainty in five areas, Puzder said. In the current political and regulatory environment, taxes, health care costs, labor costs, food costs and operating costs are all subject to unpredictable fluctuations — and those fluctuations are risk factors for businesses.
But the solutions need not be one-sided. “This is a bipartisan problem,” Puzder said. “Prosperity is something both parties should be seeking.”
And in at least one respect, according to Puzder, patriotism demands the development of a more stable regulatory environment. Businesses will grow where they’re welcome, he said. If United States policy is hostile to businesses, they’ll move elsewhere. The same is true across state lines, as Puzder himself proves: CKE Restaurants has plans to build just 30 new restaurants in California in the next decade — and some 300 restaurants in Texas.
