Mitt Romney, without saying how he intends to do it, promised to bring jobs back to Michigan. He said there should be a federal policy to keep the auto industry strong in the US.
Let me tell you one way I believe Mitt Romney can do this, without compromising his conservative stance on the economy.
First, I don’t believe Mitt intends to exercise protectionist policies. Denying foreign countries free access to our economy hurts us more than them. Adam Smith showed this in Wealth of Nations, and that truth hasn’t changed.
What Mitt has promised, however, is a 0% corporate income tax. The natural effect of this is that the only reason companies would not want to incorporate in the United States is due to regulations. I admit that US regulations can be a monster to deal with, but we have good competition from most other countries. But if Mitt follows through on his promise to cut red tape and reduce regulation, all the world’s corporations will suddenly find it in their best interests to relocate their headquarters to the United States.
What Mitt has also promised is to cut the capital gains tax to 0% as well. The net effect of this is it makes sense to invest, and to adjust those investments, even when they are profitable. As it is today, no one wants to liquidate their profitable positions because doing so means you have to pay 15% of your profits to Uncle Sam. If you don’t liquidate your investment, then you can’t reinvest it to meet a shifting economy. This means that opportunities that arise are missed, because people would rather keep that 15% tax away for as long as possible.
It will also, more importantly, help investment funds turn even more profit. That will translate to reduced costs to manage the retirement programs of the auto workers. This means the American companies will find it a bit easier to compete with their competitors overseas who enjoy lower costs of doing business.
What Mitt has also promised is to fix the entitlement programs and medical insurance programs by getting more natural competition in the process. As more people are encouraged to deliver better medical services for a cheaper price, the price of medical care will naturally drop, while the quality improves. This will help alleviate some of the costs that the auto companies have to deal with in insuring their retired employees.
Most importantly, I believe Mitt Romney will help actually bring about the needed changes–some through legislation, some through simple presidential orders–that will free the American workers, businessmen, and investors from the shackles they find themselves in today.
In the end, getting jobs back to Michigan isn’t about building a fence around Michigan and telling people they can’t get out, or they can’t do business outside of Michigan. It is about making Michigan competitive like it used to be, making them a world leader in business, manufacturing, research and development, by unleashing the natural talent and drive of the American people living in Michigan. It is about making Michigan a place where people from all over the world want to do business. It is about putting it at the top of the list of business-friendly environments.
When that happens, and it can only happen with liberty and independence from federal regulation and taxes, then the jobs will flow back to Michigan in a much larger and more prosperous way.
