Real recovery from unemployment will require less red tape

June’s increase in private sector job creation of only 83,000 jobs does not spell “Recovery Summer,” promised by the administration last month. It’s natural that employers are afraid to hire since their taxes will go up on Jan. 1, 2011; their energy bills will rise if Congress passes President Obama’s requested cap-and-trade legislation; their ability to borrow will decline if the financial regulation bill is signed into law; and, if they have a workforce of more than 50, they will face a $2,000 penalty per worker if they don’t provide the right kind of health insurance.  For a real “Recovery Summer,” Congress and the president need a different agenda — lower taxes, lower spending and less regulatory red tape.

Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former chief
economist at the U.S. Department of Labor.