Frustrated executives say political impasse slows hiring, investing

[alp227]

Source: The Washington Post

CHICAGO — Business leaders are growing exasperated with Washington. And they say the dysfunction in the political system is holding them back from hiring and investing.

A new sort of risk to growth is emerging, not from the kind of economic forces that led to the recent recession but from elected officials’ inability to agree on how to deal with them. This angst in the executive suite is reflected in this month’s uptick in lobbying by business groups eager to see a deal on the federal debt ceiling, in surveys showing falling confidence among business leaders — and, in the American heartland, by the deepening frustrations of corporate chiefs.

In interviews in this great industrial capital, senior executives in the area said they lack confidence that political leaders can execute the basic nuts and bolts of governing, as exemplified by the brinksmanship over raising the debt ceiling. Indeed, the frustration over the political climate and Washington’s seeming inability to solve problems appears to weigh more heavily in their minds than any specific government policy.

The executives are hostile to President Obama and his agenda and say higher taxes would damage their business prospects and make them less inclined to invest and hire. But in contrast to congressional Republicans’ claims that any tax increases would stop job creation in its tracks, many executives say they could tolerate somewhat higher taxes if they were part of a broader plan that offered clarity on the nation’s future policies, particularly one heavy on spending cuts.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/frustrated-executives-say-political-impasse-slows-hiring-investing/2011/07/25/gIQAeitbaI_singlePage.html

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Well, Obama handed those executives another couple of years of Bush-era tax rates...and we know what happened to the jobs under these circumstances. What more do they want?

[Autumn]

1. Smells like bull shit to me.

what will be their excuse after this is over?

[iwishiwas]

7. oh the next crisis is on the horizon to be sure.

[RKP5637]

2. This is pure bullshit from them! Where were they before? n/t

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. Bullshit. Businesses don't like uncertainty, and that is what we have given them.

Raise their taxes. They will adjust to the new norms a hella lot quicker than keeping 8 plates spinning on sticks where they don't know what to expect.

Econ 101. It isn't rocket science.

[bread_and_roses]

4. oh what a total crock - as posters above said

they've been sitting on piles of profits (stolen from the stagnation in wages and bolstered by off-shoring) and not hiring for how long now?

[madmom]

5. isn't that the exact same thing they said about the tax cuts?

[cstanleytech]

6. Obama signing the law was questionable imo as well.

Not ethically as in he being pro big business or being bought off by said big business as some have tried to claim but rather as in I dont think it was the best choice but whats done is done and I dont think you will see him extend the full cuts a 2nd time.
He might do some of it as a compromise though if the republicans agree to close most if not all of the loopholes companies are using in order to not pay any taxes at all like GE did which if you think about it would be a good thing because 0% tax collected is still 0 no matter how you work the numbers or how high you raise the % that companies are taxed.