Compared to, for instance, the Bush years, that hotbed of slashed regulations and rising business investment? Oh, wait.
But hey: don’t let facts interfere with your fondest fantasies. Here’s the fairy story:
…employment growth is sluggish because firms are turning down … opportunities to make goods and services that are profitable today (current sales are very profitable) because they fear regulations will not allow these sales opportunities to be as profitable in the future and they fear making the longer-term commitment of hiring permanent workers.
Yeah that makes sense: they’re investing more in equipment and software — which is a permanent sunk cost — than in any recent recession, but they won’t hire workers, who they can fire if necessary?
And this behavior by businesses has nothing to do with the Republicans doing everything in their power to drive us back into recession to make Obama look bad. It’s because there are some new regulations pending. Makes all the sense in the world.
Regulatory uncertainty: A phony explanation for our jobs problem | Economic Policy Institute.
Comments
5 responses to “Regulatory uncertainty is killing business investment: ya right”
I say they are investing in these things INSTEAD of hiring.
Cuz labor is – oh, I dunno – LUMPY or something.
Cheers!
JzB
>investing in these things INSTEAD of hiring.
Oh yeah. Cuz:
>Cuz labor is – oh, I dunno – LUMPY or something.
“Labor,” yeah, but employees are annoying, what with all their expectations, negotiations, lip… Hardware and software, you tell ’em what to do (as long as you tell ’em right), they just do it.
A little break off topic here
Mr. Roth, you thought I had caught all the colorful links that one time on Rick Perry. Guess what?? I missed at least one (I’m sure others on varied topics):
http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2011/10/02/gov_rick_perry_s_hunting_camp_had_racist_moniker.html
I really cannot wait until Fatty from New Jersey enters the race. I don’t think I will be able to miss SNL after that. I’m not good at writing humor, but I guarantee, even I could write a funny as hell skit on that.
Here’s Herman Cain with Christiane Amanpour on the N.i.g.g.e.r.head sign:
http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/interview-herman-cain-14650221
I don’t agree with Herman Cain on many issues, but I think he is a truth talker, and I respect him. The Republicans will smash Mr. Cain in two when he’s no longer useful, and if I was Colin Powell, I’d be frantically calling Cain everyday trying to tell him “Watch your back friend, don’t end up the slave called up to master’s porch to lead your brothers around by the nose, in a naive moment”.
[…] As asymptosis points out, this story requires that uncertainty is driving business to be “investing more in equipment and software — which is a permanent sunk cost – than in any recent recession, but they won’t hire workers, who they can fire if necessary?” […]
[…] trends suggest that for employers, investment in equipment and software is a preferable substitute for […]