When It Isn’t Good to be Number One

America loves to be number one. But now we have the dubious distinction of being number one in a category that nobody wants: we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. The result is that the U.S. tax code continues to drive American employers to outsource jobs overseas. Since 2001, Japan had levied the highest combined corporate tax rate among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries at 39.5 percent. They... Read More

Obama Declares War on Coal and Jobs

If there was a commodity that brings $16 billion to the American economy through exports and directly and indirectly employs around 1.5 million American workers, this would be a commodity that would naturally be supported by everyone. That commodity is coal — which is not supported by at least one group: the Obama administration, which has literally declared war on the American coal industry, and the jobs that come with it. Last week the Obama administration... Read More

Compromised Secrets Compromise Job Creation

Secrets are a trust between individuals and groups. They play a role in security and building sustainable relationships. But when secrets are compromised, trust is the victim. There have been two recent situations where secrets are being compromised — both of which will compromise job creation. The first surrounds the supposed secret deliberations by the Supreme Court over Obamacare. The cost of implementation and compliance with a government controlled... Read More

Bernanke Is Addicted to Morphine Economics

Last week, Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve and a member of the central bank’s policy-making committee, compared Wall Street’s addiction to the Fed’s economic policy as “monetary morphine.” I coined a version of that term more than three years ago because it aptly describes how the Federal government is handling the economy. Ben Bernanke, current chairman of the Federal Reserve, is the “morphine dealer” as... Read More

When Patents Are Stolen, so Are American Jobs

Ideas build nations. Great minds fueled the economies of nations as far back as the ancient Egyptians. Yet, after only a bit more than 200 years, America has become the world’s innovation leader. Small and medium-sized American companies generate the overwhelming percentage of this creativity, filing 13 more patents per employee than large corporations do. Meanwhile, the core copyright industries alone (not including the broader sector) lead all... Read More

Traditional Donor Base Lukewarm on Obama Re-election

If you’re looking for proof that President Barack Obama has lost his luster with his voter base, two of his traditional big donors – labor unions and Hollywood — are taking a tentative look at supporting the Democratic Party with big money. While the AFL-CIO will certainly support Obama and Democrats, they are not generating the kind of money that Democratic presidential candidates are used to receiving. And they certainly are not as enthusiastic... Read More

Obama Counting on Rising Oil Prices to Fuel His Green Movement

Talking about oil prices is like moving through an avalanche zone. One loud outcry and the whole thing collapses. That’s what has happened with our saber rattling over Iran. Gasoline prices are rapidly rising attributed to uncertainty about Iran and the loss of Iranian oil supplies to the world market or a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 million barrels of oil, or about 20 percent of total world production, flow each day. Already,... Read More

Manufacturing Needs to be Remanufactured

Nationwide, an estimated 600,000 manufacturing jobs are going unfilled, according to a survey published last year by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute. The survey found 5 percent of current manufacturing jobs are unfilled due to lack of qualified candidates, 67 percent of manufacturers have a moderate to severe shortage of qualified workers, and 56 percent expect the shortage to increase in the next three to five years as older workers retire. Most... Read More

Obama’s Failed Energy Policy Has Fueled Dismal Job Creation

In his State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama again gave lip service to a national energy policy. And again, nothing has happened, or will happen. From the very beginning of his administration, he has failed to grasp the realities of America’s 21st century energy requirements and their relationship to jobs and the economy. Now rising oil prices (the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has jumped 13.1 cents to $3.518 in the... Read More

US Trade Tide Moving in the Wrong Direction

Once again, rhetoric from the Obama administration has trumped action. President Barack Obama’s pledge to double exports in five years is off to a rocky start. Tax relief and support for U.S. exporters has failed to materialize. The result is the U.S. trade imbalance continues to grow. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services increased to $558 billion in 2011 from $500 billion in 2010. That’s up 11.6 percent from 2010 as imports continue... Read More