Obama Should Embrace Reagan Model

Floor Speech

Ronald Reagan came into his presidency faced with a failed economy inherited from President Carter and went on to create a robust economy that was the largest expansion in U.S. history. He galvanized the nation with his confidence in our country by stating, "America remains mankind's best hope." President Reagan's optimism and rejection of negative, divisive tactics like class warfare, raising taxes, and bigger government brought our country together and forged an economic recovery that lasted well into mid-1990.

President Obama also inherited a weak economy, but there is no disputing that he's made problems worse. Instead of using Reagan's optimism and unifying message, the president has caused division, distrust and promoted failed big government ideologies. Nearly three years after his inauguration, it is clear that President Obama and his policies of big government, higher taxes, and more government spending have harmed our country.

Last month, our entire economy failed to create a single new job. Our nation's unemployment rate stands at 9.1 percent and has hovered over 8 percent for a record 32 consecutive months. We have seen our families, friends, and neighbors struggle to find jobs as they watch their chance at achieving the American Dream slowly erode.

Recently, the President unveiled his so-called American Jobs Act, which he claims would give the economy a much-needed boost. Unfortunately, President Obama said the same thing about his stimulus nearly three years ago. The President projected that the stimulus would keep the unemployment rate below 8 percent but over 2 million jobs have been lost since he uttered those words. Now, his recent proposal consists mainly of the same failed approach.

A key question is how are we going to pay for this? The White House recently outlined plans to pay for this bill with $467 billion in higher taxes. This announcement should prompt us to recall what President Obama said previously in August of 2009: "you don't raise taxes in a recession." Surely 14 million unemployed Americans believe we are still in a recession, so what is the president doing?

Even if the cost of this bill were paid for with spending cuts rather than tax hikes, it is doubtful that President Obama's plan would work. Over half of it relies upon an extension of the Social Security tax cut that has been in place for nearly a year; temporary Social Security tax cuts do not stimulate the economy, so why are we doing it again, especially when it could jeopardize our seniors' hard-earned benefits?

The day the president announced the details of his plan, I expressed deep concerns about taking $240 billion from the Social Security trust fund to pay for temporary, ineffectual tax cuts. Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat, has echoed my concerns in recent days by noting, "[i]t will cost $240 billion to extend that for another year, but it cripples and does irreparable damage to Social Security."

Republicans and conservative Democrats have joined together to propose solutions to our economic problems, and it has been very frustrating to watch numerous jobs bills pass out of the House that but either stall in the Senate or face a hostile reaction from the president.
We are willing to work with the president, but he must be willing to do the same. Infrastructure investments and job training programs are things most Republicans can accept, but President Obama must also agree to cut spending, rein in rogue regulatory agencies and permanently reform the tax code to encourage investment in America.

Reagan understood what made America such a strong and vibrant nation, saying, "You knew that in the end it was free enterprise, not government regulation, not high taxes or big government spending, but free enterprise that had led to the building of a great America."
President Reagan embodied America's can-do spirit. President Obama should embrace that model, abandon the divisive rhetoric and worn-out liberal policies, and focus on pulling our country together.

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