Ten things the government could do to help create jobs

There's been a lot in the press recently about the need to create jobs. Yet the only solutions offered seem to be things like cutting taxes or new spending on various government-sponsored job programs (Keynesianism). You would think it would obvious to most people by now that this doesn't work -- remember that $1 trillion "stimulus" from a few years ago? Did it help? Clearly not.

So if government spending doesn't work, then what's the answer? It's basically the opposite of what the government has been doing. Rather than increasing regulations and creating more and more barriers -- just get out of the frigging way!

[[MORE]]A few examples:

1. Repeal regulations. It may not even matter where you start -- almost all of them are bad.


2. Allow failure. Freedom only works if it's also possible to fail. Don't protect companies from failure or mistakes; let them go bankrupt or be sued. You'd be shocked at how many laws there are that seek to interfere in this area.


3. Make it easy for people to be fired. Although it might seem paradoxical at first, making it easy for an employer to fire their employees also makes it easier for them to hire. If an employer is likely to be stuck with someone they can't get rid of, it makes them reluctant to hire in the first place. Easy firing also lets them trim dead wood, so the truly productive are more likely to be rewarded.


4. Abolish the minimum wage. Unemployment is highest among young adults. Is it better to work for a low, yet mutually agreed wage, or to not work at all? Keep in mind that even when working for a low wage, people are building experience -- which often leads to higher wages down the road.


5. Repeal all laws that require jobs to be licensed. You need a license these days even if you want to just wash someone else's hair. Licensing has become a way for people who do certain jobs to put up barriers against competition. Caveat emptor is a much better policy.This would be especially effective at reducing healthcare costs.


6. Allow employment testing. The Supreme Court's 1971 decision against employment testing ended up making it much more risky for employers to hire, because they're can't be as confident in their hires as they would be otherwise.


7. Repeal all "equal opportunity" laws. If an employer is forced to hire someone only due to their race or gender, and not because they are the best person available for that job, it means the company is less productive, and therefore able to support fewer jobs than it could otherwise.


8. Reduce or eliminate corporate taxes. Higher profits means more money would be available for jobs. Corporations aren't living entities. The real burden of corporate taxes falls on their shareholders -- which includes many of today's ailing pension funds. Corporate taxes are really just hidden taxes on individuals; we pay them in higher prices for the things those companies produce.


9. Something needs to be done about unions. I agree with the idea that people should be able to collectively bargain, and things like that. But current union-related laws go much further than that. It seems to me that what we see in Detroit today is largely a result of unions that have taken things too far. I don't know exactly what the solution is.


10. Legalize owning and making stuff. There is a surprisingly huge list of things that are illegal to make or own in the US. For example, alcohol stills (which are legal in New Zealand, BTW). Once legalized, assuming there is demand, companies would spring up to manufacture them, and those companies would need employees -- as would supporting companies, such as accounting firms, transportation, distribution, wholesalers, retailers, construction, etc.

In addition, when the government borrows, it is competing with businesses for capital. Reducing government borrowing would therefore make more capital available to businesses, which would allow them to hire and grow.