Deck the halls! The Obamas were Christmas shopping on "Small Business Saturday," and spurring economic growth with their consumer spending. Economic activity that may come to an abrupt end if we take the plunge off the fiscal cliff.
CBSNews.com reporter Lindsey Boerma wrote on November 24 about the outing detailing how, “accompanied by his daughters Sasha and Malia, the president journeyed across the river to One More Page Books, which the White House described as an "independent, neighborhood bookstore." After consulting his Blackberry for an apparent holiday wish list, he purchased 15 children's books before even browsing the store.” But is President Obama really pro-small business?
Boerma noted “in a message to ‘Small Business Saturday’ supporters Friday, the president said: "From the mom-and-pop storefront shops that anchor Main Street to the high-tech startups that keep America on the cutting edge, small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the cornerstones of our Nation's promise.” Yet, according to Penny Starr at CNSNews.com, this administration proposed 6,125 new regulations, an average of 68 per day, in the last 90 days from November 9. In fact, this administration has added 11,327 pages of new federal regulations since 2009. Lastly, they added $9.5 billion in red tape in the month of July alone. All of these facts, which are anathema to American enterprise, were omitted from CBS’ fluff piece on the First Family’s shopping spree.
Starr added:
Randy Johnson, senior vice president of labor, immigration and employee benefits at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, distributed a handout of a Congressional Research Service analysis of a 2008 study commissioned by the Small Business Administration that estimated the annual compliance price for all federal regulations at $1.7 trillion that year.
Seventy percent of the regulations were economic, accounting for $1.236 trillion of the annual cost. The other regulations were, in order of cost, environment regulations ($281 billion), tax compliance ($160 billion) and occupational safety and health and homeland security ($75 billion).
The president “ordered a government-wide review, and if there are rules on the books that are needlessly stifling job creation and economic growth, we will fix them.” He fixed them by adding over 10,000 more pages in federal regulations, and proposed an additional 6,125 on the backs of businesses, especially coal.
The president concluded his remarks by saying ‘these businesses create two out of every three new jobs in America, helping spur economic development in communities across our country and giving millions of families and individuals the opportunity to achieve the American dream," he continued. "Through events such as 'Small Business Saturday,' we keep our local economies strong and help maintain an American economy that can compete and win in the 21st century.”
To America’s small business owners, there’s a fat chance that this administration will be on your side. Do the right thing and make your employees part-timers to cut costs. [sarcasm]
