Gary Johnson sends Washington a Jobs Plan — On a Postcard

July 8, 2011

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July 8, 2011, Santa Fe, NM – Presidential candidate Gary Johnson has responded to today’s dismal jobs report by sending the White House and Congress a plan for kick-starting private sector job creation – and the plan fits on a postcard.

Urging three immediate steps: Eliminating the corporate income tax; cutting spending immediately by $300 billion to offset the temporary loss of revenue; and directing that regulations and their implementation meet a standard of creating certainty for employers, Johnson said, “With a June unemployment rate of 9.2% and the fewest new jobs added in nine months, it’s time for Washington to stop fiddling while Rome is burning. We’ve tried government ‘stimulus’ – all it did was bankrupt us. We’ve heard a lot of talk about cutting spending and reducing job-killing debt, but it hasn’t happened. And now we’re watching as our leaders quibble over tax loopholes and long-term spending reductions that may or may not actually happen.

“Americans can’t wait any longer for the hand-wringing to produce results. If Congress would do three simple things, and they could do them next week with straight up –or-down votes, I guarantee that we would see historic job creation almost overnight.

“First, instead of giving lip service to the need to reduce the corporate tax rate, just eliminate the tax altogether. It is double taxation, and the current 35% rate is among the highest of producing nations. Eliminate it, and instead of watching jobs go overseas, we would see the U.S. become the undisputed job magnet of the world.

“Recognizing that eliminating the corporate tax may cause a temporary loss of revenue and increase the deficit – at least on paper, Congress and the President can, next week, mandate immediate spending reductions of $300 billion. If they need help figuring out how to do that, I’m available. One place to start might be the wars and nation-building we don’t need to be fighting or doing. Clearly, more cuts are needed, and as president, I would submit a balanced budget for 2013.

“Finally, one can argue that the greatest obstacle to job creation in the private sector is uncertainty. From the dark cloud of health care reform and its costs to a host of other regulatory machinations coming from Washington, investors and employers have no clue what their costs are going to be or what the competitive landscape will be going forward. The President has tremendous power to adjust or even stop regulatory policies and enforcement that are preventing job creation, and the Administration and Congress need to focus like a laser on doing so.

“The politicians in DC like to make us think these types of actions are complicated and difficult. They aren’t. Certainly, we need comprehensive tax reform, such as a FairTax. And we need to cut trillions, not billions, from spending and balance the budget. And not all regulations are evil. But right now, today, we are in crisis. These simple, straightforward, steps will do more to create millions of jobs in America – quickly – than all the stimulus and budget hand-wringing Washington has ever dreamed of. And yes, if they wanted to, Congress and the President could do these three things next week.”