As I watch the general malaise gripping Washington, I find myself thinking about the lyrics of Tom Petty’s hit song: “The waiting is the hardest part.”
I know I am not the only one waiting for something to happen to get this nation back on track.
Our small businesses, entrepreneurs and 14 million unemployed feel an endless gnawing, the grinding of gears, as America performs like a broken clock.
Time stands still. It has become all about the waiting.
• The waiting for the Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare so we can get our future healthcare costs under control. The Affordable Healthcare for America Act is anything but affordable. When the majority of states consider it unconstitutional, something is very wrong. It’s just one more thing keeping small business from hiring. If you can’t budget healthcare costs, you can’t budget the money to hire.
• The waiting for a bi-partisan compromise on the deficit crisis — a compromise that won’t raise taxes on America’s job creators. Congressional bickering and a stalemate on action merely create uncertainty. Uncertainty is the enemy of job creation. As are excessive taxes.
• The waiting for leadership that leads from the front and not from the rear. Leadership with a vision that has America taking its rightful place in the world economy and competing with all nations. An America that is not scared, but has the wisdom to defend and protect its economic interests. Leadership that ensures American exporters have the same access to foreign markets as foreign manufacturers have to the U.S. market. It also means that our intellectual property is protected and cherished.
• The waiting for the end of cronyism; when politicians are more interested in this nation and its people, than their pet projects and re-election. As history has repeatedly shown, market forces pick winners and losers, not the government.
• The waiting for a sincere effort to reduce the $1.7 trillion in government regulation and compliance cost. When business owners are grappling with unfair and harsh regulations, they aren’t thinking about hiring.
• The waiting for tax reform that vastly simplifies the tax code and that incentivizes for our factories to return home. Even a staff member of the Internal Revenue Service characterizes the American tax system as not only a mess, but an “extraordinarily complex” mess … and not just for individuals, for corporate entities and businesses.” When American manufacturers are punished for making money, it’s no wonder so many move their plants overseas. We need them to come back home so they can hire U.S. workers.
• The waiting for American free enterprise, economic freedom and personal liberty to take their rightful place as the foundation of U.S. exceptionalism.
• The waiting for an America that is confident in itself once again. Where the American Dream isn’t a slogan, it’s a reality. It’s time for Americans to believe that the best days of this nation are ahead. Don’t fall victim to negativism that is eroding our collective spirit. America is the greatest, most successful nation in the world. We need to start embracing this and demanding that others do, too.
Come, sing along with me: “Every day you see one more card, you take it on faith, you take it to the heart — the waiting is the hardest part.”
I’m tired of waiting, and you should be too. That’s what elections are for.
DEC
