Freedom Line Blog

The Labor Department this morning reported that nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 85,000 in December, bringing the total number of jobs lost in 2009 to a whopping 4.2 million.

As Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs Timothy Lee wrote this week in a commentary posted on CFIF’s website, “the latest economic data continue to suggest that our recovery is weaker than it otherwise should be, due to malignant federal policies.”

Lee points to a recently released survey  by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), which makes his point:

According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), a tiny 7% of small businesses (which account for approximately 2/3 of new jobs) expect near-term expansion and the type of risk-taking necessary for sustained prosperity.  Further, only 8% of NFIB respondents expect near-term employment opportunities.  The same NFIB report also states that capital investment and expenditures have dropped to a 35-year low.”

The reason?  Lee writes:

According to the NFIB survey, businesses report that the current political climate stands high among the reasons for tepid recovery, even ahead of the ability to secure loans.  The survey goes on to cite ‘the level of uncertainty being created by government, the usual source of uncertainty for the economy.  The ‘turbulence’ created when Congress is in session is often debilitating, this year being one of the worst.’ …

“…The continuing onslaught of more government spending, borrowing and regulation will not bring the type of recovery that we should expect, but rather perpetuate an inhospitable economic climate.  When we return to time-tested policies that encourage private investment, risk-taking and hiring – less confiscation of wealth, greater protection of property rights and fewer oxygen-depleting regulations – is when sustainable, long-term growth will return.”

In other words, when it comes to job losses and the slow economic recovery, It’s Washington, Stupid!

Read Lee’s full commentary piece here.