Mitt Romney’s plan for the United States’ economy represents an attempt at reversing the standard that has been set by the Obama administration. Whereas President Obama sought to strengthen the economy by increasing the role of the federal government as a job creator, Gov. Romney has presented a five-point strategy that aims to free the United States from the anemic growth that has been caused by government interference and over-regulation.
Essentially, the goals Gov. Romney plans to achieve with his plan are to free small businesses from the constraints that are inhibiting their growth, reduce the tax burden on American citizens by scaling back the proliferation of costly, ineffective government programs, and ultimately return America to the system of self-determined free enterprise that it was founded upon.
The cornerstone of Romney’s five-point plan is to achieve American energy independence by 2020. By fully utilizing the abundance of energy producing resources naturally found within our borders, the hundreds of billions of dollars Americans send abroad for fossil fuels each year will instead remain within our economy. If executed effectively, this will not only cause the number of available jobs in the energy sector to skyrocket, but will also generate jobs through the capital America stands to retain.
The issue of retraining unemployed workers has been a focal point of both the Obama and Romney campaigns. However, where Obama seeks to employ generalized federal programs, Romney has elected to instead fund state programs that have a greater amount of industry specificity. This will leave workers better trained for jobs closer to their homes and will let states, not the Federal Government, decide what industries will help grow their economies in the most effective manner.
One of the more difficult obstacles Romney plans to overcome is reforming the current U.S. tax code, which has decayed into a grotesque composite of past successes and failures. Many of these taxes hinder job creation and economic growth, and the sporadic nature of their inceptions creates uncertainty for businesses. Among the most notable tax alterations he has committed to are an across the board 20 percent decrease of marginal tax rates, and a cut of the corporate tax rate, which is the highest in the industrialized world, by 10 percent.
Romney has stated regulations on businesses act as a hidden tax to Americans, as they reduce the potential amount of money circulating within our economy. While deregulating business may seem taboo to some, the fact of the matter is that the government’s Small Business Administration, on its own, costs Americans $1.75 trillion in money lost due to companies simply following the rules.
Regulations such as the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act cost financial institutions billions of dollars annually in order to comply, thus hindering their ability to invest in businesses nationwide. By repealing such burdensome regulations, Romney will aid the American economy in returning to a successfully functioning state.
A transition Romney seeks to achieve during his presidency is giving states the power to invest in businesses via block grants. This gives the states the ability to grow local economies with greater precision and reduces the amount of federal funds given directly to businesses. In order to reduce abundant federal spending, Romney will also require federal agencies, which act largely unregulated, to seek congressional approval before making large monetary commitments.
Romney’s plan for the U.S. economy is simple enough: eliminate government excesses and allow businesses to function effectively in their own right. This would definitely be a phase change from the previous administration, but it is a change America needs in order to return to its prominence in the international economy.
