Hey, Mort, Obama's role is to destroy American business and you are trying to figure out a way to save him?

Only business can put Obama back on top

By Mort Zuckerman

Two years ago Mr Obama was virtually walking on water; today he is barely treading water. But a new direction is possible, especially if he begins to focus his attempts to launch a new agenda with business on a few concrete steps.

A simpler tax code would be conducive to both enterprise and social justice. A national infrastructure plan, independent from Congress, can focus on large-scale interstate programmes paid for over time by tolls. Increases in the number of visas for highly qualified students, especially those with graduate degrees in the hard sciences, would help – ideally moving back to the 195,000 visas permitted in 2000, up from 65,000 today.

More generally, a house-clean is needed. As one business leader put it: “In the Clinton administration, the policy people were at the centre and the political people were on the sidelines. In the Obama administration, the political people are at the centre and the policy people are on the sidelines.” So Mr Obama must bring in more senior business people, including a fiscal expert who grasps the nexus between policy and politics.

A widely respected chief executive would also help to calm the business community. At the very least, Mr Obama’s inner circle should have a go-to person that businesses believe understands their issues. No longer should we have the likes of Ken Salazar, secretary of the interior, who after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico said that the US government’s attitude to BP was to “keep our boot on their neck until the job gets done”.

Finally, Mr Obama must negotiate now for a credible, long-term deficit-reduction programme. That should have been part of the package with the recent trillion-dollar spending measures, and the helpful reduction in payroll tax. There are signs the administration is reaching out for a reconciliation with the business community. Good. It is bad politics and economics to beat up the people who can create the new jobs that the economy needs. But business leaders will not be won over by a round of private lunches and photo ops. There is no substitute for good policy.

Link:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1e56086c-0882-11e0-80d9-00144feabdc0.html#axzz18F33jV9C