This week, the president took time out from his busy fund raising schedule in an effort to pitch his latest plan to raise job-destroying taxes by $1.5 trillion in the middle of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression.  While the president touts his tax increases, job creators across America are left to wait and see if the administration’s promises of higher taxes and more red tape will come to pass.  The lingering uncertainty perpetuated by President Obama has forced our nation’s businesses into a virtual standstill and shattered public confidence in the economy.

Small Business Confidence Continues to Plummet

• According to a survey of more than 1,700 CEOs of small U.S. firms, the CEO networking group Vistage International reported this week that CEO confidence for the third quarter of 2011 fell to its lowest level in two years.  According to the report, confidence in the economy has declined by 20 percent since the beginning of the year.  Just 18 percent said the economy had improved this year, down from 37 percent in the previous quarter, while 39 percent said conditions were worse, the highest level since 2009.  Forty percent of the Vistage CEOs said economic uncertainty is the most significant business issue they are facing. 
• The Vistage report reaffirms the sentiments expressed by small business owners who responded to the National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB) monthly survey in August. According to the NFIB, confidence in the economy among small business owners fell for the sixth consecutive month and reached its lowest level in more than a year.  As the survey clearly demonstrates, the president’s dual threat of higher taxes and more regulations is bringing job creation to a screeching halt.  According to the report, “At this point, no one knows what their tax rate will be 6 months from now; no one knows what health care will do to labor costs. Higher for sure, but by how much?”

Public Confidence in the Economy Falls

• As small business and job creators lose confidence in the president’s economic prescriptions, American workers—14 million of whom are unemployed—are losing confidence that the economy can recover.  On September 20, 2011, the USA Today reported, “Americans' pessimism about the economy and its future is deepening, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, and they are increasingly willing to hold President Obama responsible for hard times.  Eight of 10 say the economy is in a recession, and nearly as many say it hasn't improved over the past year.  Even more ominous: Six in 10 predict the economy a year from now will be the same or worse than today, a downturn from the public's views last year and the year before.”

House Republicans Have a Plan to Restore Confidence and Improve Conditions to Create Jobs

• Despite inaction by the president and the Senate, House Republicans will continue pursuing the House GOP plan for job creation this Fall, which includes a focus on preventing or reversing the negative impact of over-regulation.  Last week the House passed H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act, by a vote of 249-169.  The bill would establish an interagency committee to evaluate the economic impacts of EPA regulations and delay the final dates for both the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards and the cross-state air pollution rule (CSAPR) until the full impact has been studied.  House Republicans will also fight against increasing taxes on businesses and job creators at the worst possible time.