Economy and Jobs
![Dollar bills in front of the US flag Dollar bills in front of the US flag](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121016203721im_/https://buerkle.house.gov/sites/buerkle.house.gov/files/styles/section_front_boilerplate/public/economy.jpg)
The issues of Economy and Jobs are important to our district and to my work in Congress.
Americans have recently faced a prolonged recession and the unemployment rate continues to hover above 9%. There are few families throughout Central New York who have not felt the effects of this economic downturn, and for some, the results have been devastating.
The over $1 trillion in stimulus spending in 2009-10 demonstrates the obvious: The Federal Government cannot create jobs. The government can help foster a climate that promotes job growth by passing and maintaining predictable and sensible tax rates and regulations. Uncertainty is the enemy of growth, promoting a fear of the future that keeps businesses from taking risks and expanding.
Excessive regulations carry with them runaway costs that serve little additional benefit to the public and make U.S. businesses less competitive in a global market. The U.S. Corporate Tax Rate is one of the highest in the world, compelling homegrown businesses to invest overseas and discouraging foreign firms from expanding in the United States. Major regulatory and tax reform is needed at the Federal level if the United States is to remain the leading economic engine of the world.