The Outsourcer in Chief

The latest attack strategy from the Obama campaign on Mitt Romney is that his former company, Bain Capital, outsourced jobs overseas under his leadership. Personally, I have not researched these claims to check their validity. But even if it is true, the reason why jobs are outsourced is because companies, unlike the government, have to post a profit. And what progressives fail to recognize is that local, state, and federal government rules, regulations, and policies are what forces jobs to move overseas – not companies. Any policy, law, or regulation that makes it harder for businesses to conduct work or increase operating costs can lead to the outsourcing of jobs. Below is a list of Obama administration policies that will result in more jobs being shipped overseas:

• ObamaCare will have two effects on the future of this nation and neither is good. First, many companies may opt out of offering healthcare insurance to employees because it is cheaper for them pay the government fine. Secondly, if companies continue to offer healthcare insurance to employees, these costs are going to rise substantially placing more fiscal burdens on companies.

• Policies such as quantitative easing and the Obama stimulus worked to flood the economy with money. The end result is higher inflation. Higher inflation is a tax on every American citizen and corporation.

• Obama’s war on oil companies such as restricting fracking, denying oil drilling permits, and killing the Keystone pipeline are partly to blame for higher gas prices. Higher gas prices means higher energy prices for all American individuals and companies.

• Obama’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) pro union stance has prevented companies from moving to right to work states to lower their operating costs. The NLRB also took away the “secret ballot” making it easier for unions to expand; the NLRB decided that unionized workers should be forced to wait a “reasonable amount of time” before booting a union after a change of ownership at their shop; and finally, the NLRB allows for “micro-union” organizing at non-acute healthcare facilities. It is no secret how unionized companies push manufacturing jobs overseas because American companies cannot compete with foreign companies since employee benefit costs are much higher within unionized companies.

• Obama’s EPA has declared war on carbon emitting corporations with new rules, regulations, and bureaucracy. The result is higher operating expenses for corporations, especially energy companies. This can lead to jobs going overseas where energy costs and environmental laws are more lenient.

• Obama’s green energy policy is leading directly to higher outsourcing because renewable energies are more expensive. Higher energy costs are a tax on all individuals and corporations.

• Obama’s ideology and obsession to tax the wealthy will end up being a tax on small business owners or will be less incentive for business owners to grow and expand their businesses. The bottom line is it will be cheaper for small businesses to open up manufacturing sites in other tax friendly countries.

• The Obama administrations unwillingness to enforce illegal immigration laws and secure American borders essentially outsources U.S. jobs to Mexico because jobs going to illegal aliens are not going to taxpaying American citizens.

• Obama protectionism policies are also worrisome. Obama has increased tariffs on China made products who in turn, have increased taxes on American made products.

• Obama’s record debt spending will eventually result in few government jobs, and yes, even the possibility of outsourcing government jobs.

• The goal of Obama’s educational policy “The Race to the Top” is to have students meet a watered down proficiency level in reading and math. While teachers work hard to get the poorest performing students to pass the test, meanwhile maximizing the proficiency levels of advanced students are overlooked. The bottom line is that as the U.S. continues to fall behind the rest of the globe in math and science, U.S. corporations must continue to outsource engineering and other innovative jobs.

Romney may or may not have outsourced jobs, but the fact of the matter is our president’s policies have done nothing but promote the outsourcing of jobs. This should come as no surprise since this president and his administration have no practical economic or business experience.