Unemployment
Millions of Americans who are willing and able to work are unemployed.
Republicans and Democrats argue over band-aids like extending
unemployment benefits and creating make-work government jobs.
Meanwhile, they ignore the major cause of unemployment: their own
policies. When government officials inflate the supply of money, when
they give special privileges to banks, and when they try to plan the
economy, they cause cycles of boom and bust -- cycles that misdirect
investors, destroy healthy companies, and put workers out of work.
Some politicians propose that the government should guarantee a job to
every American. Other politicians believe a national industrial policy
will put people to work. The Soviet Union tried these policies for
decades. The result was national bankruptcy and widespread poverty.
Why should we make the same mistakes that the Soviets made?
The only cure for unemployment is a real job. The only effective way
to create real jobs is to have a strong economy.
The Democrats and Republicans have destroyed jobs by:
- taking money consumers and businesses would otherwise use to
purchase goods and services,
- taking money individuals and companies would otherwise use for
investment,
- subsidizing foreign governments, foreign businesses, and foreign
citizens,
- financing their massive budget deficit with borrowed money that
otherwise could be used for business expansion and job creation,
- smothering workers, business people, and investors with endless
regulations and bloated bureaucracy, and
- restricting commerce and trade.
Each year, our government takes over $200 billion in taxes from
American consumers and businesses to subsidize foreign governments,
foreign companies, and foreign citizens. The U.S. provides foreign
countries free defense, direct military aid, direct economic aid,
guaranteed loans, and other subsidies too numerous to list. Our
government is sending your hard earned dollars to many of our fiercest
competitors. This puts businesses here at a competitive disadvantage.
The U.S. corporate income tax discourages the flow of capital into
America to open and expand businesses and create new jobs. Companies
that pay lower taxes can produce goods and services at a lower cost and
be more competitive in world markets. Companies that pay higher taxes
have to pass those extra costs on to someone -- usually their
customers. This raises prices for American consumers and helps price
American goods out of foreign markets. The result is lost jobs at
home.
More jobs are lost because of useless regulations and bureaucratic
mandates. Large companies must devote resources to comply with each
new regulation instead of becoming more competitive, expanding, and
creating new jobs. Small businesses, which generate the vast majority
of new jobs, frequently cannot afford to comply. They go out of
business and unemployment rises.
The free flow of goods and services is a major source of employment in
a market economy. Anything which restricts trade, either within a
country or between countries, contributes to unemployment. Democrats
and Republicans may talk about eliminating subsidies, trade barriers,
and tariffs, but they haven't done it. The current U.S. policy of
subsidizing agriculture, limiting imports, and erecting countless other
barriers to trade is the exact opposite of the free trade position that
our government claims to support.
To enable Americans to find jobs, we must do everything in our power to
give workers, and the companies they work for, the ability to compete
in world markets. The Libertarian Party supports five major
initiatives to achieve this goal:
- Phase out all direct and indirect subsidies to foreign nations,
foreign companies, and foreign citizens.
- Eliminate the double taxation of corporate profits.
- Eliminate regulations and mandates that make companies less
competitive and cost jobs.
- Unilaterally end all domestic subsidy programs, trade barriers and
tariffs.
- End government economic meddling that results in depressions and
recessions that destroy jobs.
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