How Obama has been killing jobs

Conn Carroll:

...

And "get things done" without Congress is exactly what Obama has done. This week, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., released a new report, titled "The Imperial Presidency," detailing more than 40 separate occasions where Obama has written, rewritten or ignored federal law without any input from Congress.

For example, the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 requires all federal agencies to produce semiannual regulatory agendas in April and October every year. But after businesses freaked out over last year's Environmental Protection Agency agenda -- an agenda that self-reported more than $130 billion in annual regulatory costs -- Obama's EPA failed to issue either of the required regulatory plans this year. As a result of this illegal omission, businesses now lack the information necessary to make investment decisions. Regulatory uncertainty translates to less business investment. Less business investment means fewer jobs. That's a major reason why Obama is still a net job-killer as president. U.S. businesses employ 61,000 fewer Americans today than they did when Obama took office, even though the working-age population has increased by 9 million.

Even when issuing its regulations, Obama's EPA often fails to follow the law. In striking down an EPA rule regulating power plants earlier this year, a federal court said that Obama's EPA "seems reluctant to acknowledge any textual limits on its authority under" the Clean Air Act.

Conservatives are not the only ones who have documented Obama's assault on the rule of law and its impact on the U.S. economy. Every year, the World Economic Forum issues a Global Competitiveness Report, ranking more than 100 countries on a number of key economic indicators. When Obama was sworn into office, the United States was ranked as the best country in the world to do business. After just four years under Obama, the U.S. has dropped to seventh. The report specifically cites the collapse in the rule of law in explaining this decline.

Before Obama was president, the U.S. ranked 40th in "favoritism in decisions of government officials." Today, the U.S. ranks 59th, a fall of 19 places. Before Obama was president, the U.S. ranked 50th for lowest "burden of government regulation." Today, the U.S. ranks 76th, a fall of 26 places. Before Obama was president, the U.S. ranked 28th in "transparency of government policy making." Today, the U.S. ranks 56th, a fall of 28 places.

...

That is how you kill an economy.  Create uncertainty and impose onerous regulations while ignoring the law. Obama did exactly the opposite of what voters said they wanted in the 2010 election.  He was aided by the execrable Harry Reid in the Senate.  We must remove both Obama and Reid from power next week.