From a reader:
It is worse than you suggest. What company will hire new employees if they don’t know what their contingent liability for health care and carbon will be? These bills are enormous overhang on the economy that is freezing decisions for hiring and investing in new initiatives. New jobs are created by small businesses and new businesses–how can anyone develop a budget when they don’t know what employment costs will be? And don’t forget that the tax rates will go up in 2011 as the Bush tax cuts expire. That means new businesses will have to be even more profitable to justify investment in order to earn the same after-tax returns.
This is not complicated. The current administration is killing the incentives for businesses to form and hire new employees. Unless those employees are in China.
Kindest regards,
[Name withheld]
PS. I work as an investment analyst and talk to companies every day about these issues. Please don’t use my name; my opinions are my own and not my company’s.