If ever there was a need for Congress to enroll in Econ 101, it’s now.
Senate Democrats are rallying behind legislation that would place new restrictions on U.S. companies to move jobs overseas. According to a report in The Hill:
At issue is a package of bills aimed at small manufacturers, including a payroll tax exemption for companies that move jobs to the U.S. The package also includes provisions that would prevent businesses from deferring U.S. taxes on the income they make from foreign subsidiaries.
Harry Reid tried to firm up support for the bill yesterday by saying, “We’re going to take away the incentives corporations have to send our jobs overseas and give them powerful new incentives to keep American jobs in America.”
Ugh.
This is not the way to spur job growth. All this legislation will do is increase taxes on struggling businesses and raise the cost of manufactured goods for the American people.
If Congress wants to help small manufacturers — and, in turn, create more jobs — they need to create stability in the marketplace. For starters, they can make the Bush-era tax cuts permanent. Providing business with certainty is the best thing Washington can do to encourage economic growth.