Jobs Are the Concern This Labor Day

Good Numbers, Bad Policy

We have economic growth today based on government spending and a falling dollar that boosts exports. Those ingredients make for good numbers but bad policy. Spending money the country doesn't have by sending checks to consumers only increases the national debt and triggers fears that we'll "print" more money, which is inflationary and weakens the dollar. That dollar weakness may spur the growth of exports, but it raises the price of everything we import, including oil.

Research shows small businesses created more new jobs, on a net basis, than larger companies in recent years. But many of those small businesses can't afford the health benefits provided by larger firms. So if you start your own small business and grow wealth -- or hire other people to work for you, or purchase supplies from a small business -- you're boosting the economy.

But job growth in small business also means a shift in the way we provide both health and retirement benefits. Individual retirement accounts have taken up some of the burden that was once provided by corporate pensions. But it is undeniable that the employer-linked health care model that worked so well in a different era now must be replaced.

The issue facing Americans -- and the political candidates in this election season -- is how to recognize the changing profile of labor in this country. The challenge is how to provide benefits and incentives that keep the economy and the job market growing, instead of making America noncompetitive in a global marketplace. And that's the central economic issue about to be debated on a national stage.

We don't want to compete for a share of the least productive jobs with the rest of the world. And we can't build a wall to keep the best jobs from moving away.

America always has created the right incentives to keep growing new industries and better jobs and a better standard of living for its citizens. That's our challenge on this Labor Day. And that's the Savage Truth.