Remember back in 2009 and 2010 when Democrats in Congress were debating how best to craft government intervention in the health care sector, which accounts for about one-sixth of the American economy? Good times! (Not really) Well, at about the same time the Federal Communications Commission was debating how best to craft government intervention into the world of the Internet, which itself accounts for another one-sixth of our economy. Despite the vigorous opposition of NTU and innumerable other public policy groups and Members of Congress, the FCC plowed ahead with an ill-advised "net neutrality" scheme giving bureaucrats regulatory power over network management. This power-grab threatens to undermine one of the most vibrant portions of our increasingly fragile economy. Unfortunately, it's par for the course for the present Administration.
Once again, the President is trying to have it both ways on job creation. Allies in Congress and his executive agencies have pursued policy after policy that reduce growth potential, while at the same time trotting out tired plans that they can tout as economic progress. Meanwhile, whether you look at start-up companies, tech operations, energy concerns, or small business owners, the only thing most entrepreneurs have received from the President and his agencies has been more red tape, more burdensome regulations, and more hoops to jump through.
Just last week, the FCC unveiled a plan to create jobs and boost our stalled economic recovery. OK, you might say, sounds like progress. Did they announce they'd be abandoning net neutrality and its stifling effects, something that would help to clear out barriers to job creation? No, of course not! Their plan involves getting more Americans working in call centers.
When it comes to the world of telecom, the solution to our job market woes is not another tour of federal regulators touting a poll-tested message about innovation. The solution lies in the Administration finally taking steps to empower business owners to grow their companies, reach new markets, generate a new wave of technology innovation, and hire new employees. In short, the solution is getting government out of the way, just as it was out of the way for the unprecedented explosion of the Internet.
Job creation is more of an art than a science, but one thing that is certain is that the federal government is all thumbs when trying to point the way to our economy's future. Instead of empowering bureaucrats to solve non-problems, the President and the FCC should immediately ditch harmful net neutrality policies and pursue a regulatory streamlining that will ease burdens on Internet users and businesses.
While that path would be a much smoother one than we're currently on, I would simply say (to use my favorite phrase) that I'm crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath. Let's hope the President and his FCC proves my cynicism misguided.