Taxpayers hoping to see a new and more productive course for job creation in the President's speech tonight may see several confusing directions instead. Despite some plans of near-term tax reductions for workers and businesses, there are far fewer clues of specific long-term relief from what remains a burdensome tax system. Despite recognizing the need for tax reform to help businesses compete at home and abroad, the President resorted to rhetoric that directly contradicts this principle: hinting at selective tax increases that would take away widely available deductions just for certain industries, by labeling them 'loopholes that nobody else gets.' Despite appearing to acknowledge that programs such as Medicare are self-destructing from overspending, the President conjured up a non-existent threat of an ideology supposedly seeking to dismantle government.
Once again Americans must wait until another day to see the full details of how exactly the President will propose to create jobs in America, and whether he will turn away from the failed formula of big-government programs that has left our nation's balance sheet in shambles and left our economy in a lurch. They're also left to wonder whether some of the encouraging policies the President discussed -- such as ratification of vital free-trade agreements -- will receive the follow-through they deserve. The time for words about fundamental tax, regulatory, and budget reform in Washington is over. The time for deeds is now.