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Rep. Roe Op-Ed: The Growing Economic Uncertainty

Weekly Column, Jul 7 -

By Congressman Phil Roe

All over the world, countries face growing uncertainty as their economic situations have deteriorated.  Reasons for this uncertainty vary, but a common factor in many of the countries situation is unsustainable debt levels and high unemployment.

Our economy faces these challenges as well, as last week’s U.S. Department of Labor unemployment figures underscored.  These numbers showed a slight dip in the unemployment rate, largely because over 652,000 Americans have given up even looking for a job.

Now reports are indicating our economy will remain sluggish and labor markets will be getting worse, not better. Not only do these indicators show the economic stimulus bill has not succeeded, but the amount of spending on programs that have done nothing to reduce unemployment will make it difficult for us to allocate resources in the future to policies that might help.  This lack of foresight has lead to growing frustration and disenchantment with the government all around.  Particularly in light of these failures, Americans are asking the federal government to reduce spending, but Majority Democrats want to blow the roof off our record deficits.

We cannot keep throwing money at the problem because the long-term negative consequences could prolong our economic crisis well into the future.  We need jobs, and I keep hearing from people back home that the government needs to get out of the way and let our small businesses create them. Further intervention may actually prolong the crisis we find ourselves in now.

My policy to promote job growth is to create an atmosphere that rewards hard work, keeps government out of the way of innovation and incentivizes our businesses to invest in new jobs and equipment. I believe our economy works best when we reduce regulations, lower taxes and allow families to keep more of what they earn.

While other countries around the world are working towards reining in budget deficits, our Democratic leaders are running in the other direction – foregoing consideration of a budget altogether.  Our record federal debt is standing at $13 trillion, and is projected to continue skyrocketing under economic analyses.  This isn’t the kind of leadership we need.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is now reporting that the national debt will reach 62 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of the year. The budget office said the debt would reach its highest percentage of GDP since the end of World War II. Lower tax revenues and higher federal spending in the recent recession drive the jump.

We can’t keep going down this reckless path. It’s unsustainable and a threat to our national security. At a time when America is facing a serious economic crisis, we have a responsibility as Congress to stimulate our economy through sound, responsible economic development policies.