It’s the unemployment, stupid – economist proposes eight point plan

Seven reasons business owners aren’t hiring

Dr. Mark Dotzour, Chief Economist for the Texas Real Estate Center is often the voice of reason in a sea of monotonous (and often wrong) economists as he opines even when controversial. Dr. Dotzour is one of the few economists who has for years noted unemployment as one of the most destructive factors in housing, even at times when others (like associations) touted real estate circa 2003 as recession-proof. We have long been in agreement that without healthy employment, housing is uncertain at best.

“When business owners are unsure about their future, what do they do? Nothing,” said Dr. Dotzour. “They just try to survive until the storm is over.”

The top seven reasons business owners aren’t hiring, according to Dr. Dotzour:

1. Complete uncertainty regarding the future cost of health care for business owners
2. Two thousand pages of bank regulation that has yet to be enacted
3. Regulation of health care and health insurance
4. Regulation of off-shore oil drilling
5. Regulation of oil-shale deposits
6. Complete uncertainty about future income tax rates
7. Complete uncertainty about future capital gains tax rates

“They also hoard cash, like almost $2 trillion at this point. Our economy is not going to recover until businessmen and women regain confidence in the future opportunities in our country,” he said.

Eight point bi-partisan repair plan

Dr. Dotzour notes that “we are creating such a hostile environment for businesses that we could be in for a long period of economic stagnation in America.” That’s scary.

But what would a non-hostile business environment even look like in today’s economy under today’s political conditions? Dr. Dotzour proposes that the current administration and Congress devise a bi-partisan plan to:

1. Repeal the health-care nightmare.
2. Repeal Dodd-Frank, and come up with 15 pages of meaningful bank reforms.
3. Tell China to stop manipulating their currency and buy something produced by Americans.
4. Roll back EPA regulations to 1999 levels.
5. Roll back all other business regulations to 1999 levels.
6. Announce an airtight plan to reduce the deficit to zero in seven years.
7. Lower corporate tax rates to stop companies from fleeing America.
8. Foreclose on four million homes and sell them to private sector investors.

Dr. Dotzour acknowledges that this view may sound like “Alice in Wonderland” but notes that the above issues “are the issues that are killing economic opportunity in our great country.” He warns that as a nation, we address these problems that plague unemployment and de-incentivizes business in America. “Either we address [these issues], or we look more and more like Japan every day. Let’s do it! Now.”