Guest post by Laurence Verga, candidate for the 5th Congressional District Republican nomination
ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VA – American enterprise, small business, and in the end, people are the driving force of job creation. Government, at any level does not create jobs. Fundamentally, we need to understand that in order to create jobs we must free business and the people who run them of excessive and job killing taxes and regulations.
Politicians often like to cite the “job creation legislation” they support. For example, Democrat Congressman Tom Perriello and Republican State Senator Robert Hurt both talk about their support of small targeted tax credits for businesses that hire new employees. It is clear they both start with the fundamental view that the government should control business. Providing a tax credit to the tune of $333 up to $5,000 is not the infusion of capital our businesses need to create high quality, good paying jobs. One has to wonder where the common sense has gone when politicians like Perriello and Hurt vote to raise taxes and then think they can create jobs with insignificant tax credits for businesses. Let us keep our money to begin with!
Recently, a small business owner in Charlottesville frustratingly remarked to me, “These miniscule tax credits are worthless. How would I pay for the rest of their salary?” From speaking with entrepreneurs across the 5th District and from my own career in building and managing companies for over two decades, I understand that employers don’t hire because of tax credits but because they have the capital to open a business or expand the business they have.
Both President John F. Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan recognized this common-sense reality and fought for bold, permanent across the board tax cuts that put capital in the hands of as many people as possible and encouraged them to invest it with higher rates of return. The result: significant economic and revenue growth.
In order to reverse the high unemployment rate throughout the 5th Congressional District we must quickly change the mindset that has settled upon politicians of both parties and quickly enact policy that allows people and business to keep their money in the first place. We do not need gimmicks like tax credits – we need money to stay in the pockets of those who spend it and those who use it to grow business and create jobs.
To restore our economic prosperity I have proposed we:
LOWER TAXES – We need to dramatically reduce the corporate income and average small business tax rates to make America competitive again in the global marketplace.
STOP RECKLESS GOVERNMENT SPENDING – Whether it is proposals like ObamaCare or Wall Street bailouts, government must stop the grossly out of control spending.
INCENTIVIZE INVESTMENT- Eliminate double taxes like the capital gains and death tax that take away capital from the private sector and into the hands of an inefficient government. Their elimination will increase the available capital in the free market necessary to fuel economic expansion.
The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results, so why would we ever expect different results when electing people who make their career as an elected official?
I have fixed broken businesses as my career and know first-hand that to create jobs we need real capital to flow into the hands of the American people. People are hurting and need jobs. The answer is not in more or bigger government. The answer, as it is has always been is in the wisdom, creativity and perseverance of the people of our country, state and district.
