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America has a jobs problem. And we don’t need more economic “stimulus” packages or government solutions. We need Congress and the Obama administration to stop dragging their feet.
In a new report, Heritage’s Rachel Greszler says that “The problem with today’s labor market is not that too many people are being laid off but that too few people are being hired.…today’s labor market is plagued with a lack of new job creation.”
Here are three areas where government could get out of the way—and let Americans create more jobs.
1. Keystone XL Pipeline
The Obama administration’s newest delay on the Keystone XL pipeline is another example of holding back positive developments in the economy. President Obama has blocked the pipeline’s completion despite several reports confirming it would have little to no negative environmental impact.
The pipeline “can be built without the help of the taxpayer,” Heritage’s Nicolas Loris reminds us, and would add to America’s domestic energy resources.
2. Reduce Employers’ Costs
A new plan in Congress called the JOBS Act would repeal old wage rules that are adding millions to businesses’ costs. When employers’ costs go up, they can’t hire new workers. As Greszler points out, unlike the federal government, American businesses “cannot pull out unlimited credit cards or tap the incomes of their customers to pay for higher costs.”
3. Cut Regulation
“Since 2008, the percentage of businesses citing regulation as their single most important problem has doubled from less than 10 percent to 21 percent,” Greszler reports. “The mountain of often unnecessary and sometimes harmful regulations that exists today continues to weigh down—and sometimes completely prevent—business growth and entrepreneurship.”
LEARN MORE: Job Creation: Policies to Boost Employment and Economic Growth