Clear up uncertainty and the jobs will follow

A recent columnist in the Albuquerque Journal said something that I’ve been saying for a while (here and here): to spur economic growth, business leaders need to see some certainty and consistency out of Washington.

The trick is that many of Obama’s keynote policy accomplishments (namely health care) are driving the very uncertainty that is holding the economy back. I’m sure the current gridlock over raising the debt ceiling isn’t helping the situation, but SOMETHING must be done to stop Washington’s over-spending even if the debt ceiling is a blunt instrument to use.

While I applaud the many Republicans who are standing firm against a blank-slate raising of the debt ceiling, the fact is that many of them (both Republicans AND Democrats) are totally spineless when it comes to proposing and voting for actual spending reductions. Even if entitlements are a tough thing to reform, there are spending programs in dire need of reform that only a few politicians in Washington are willing to actually cut.