What Caught My Eye Today - Mitt Romney's plan for jobs and economic growth

Fred's Note: It occurs to me that in recent posts regarding the upcoming U.S. Presidential election that I am guilty of doing the same thing as various media outlets by rendering opinions on statements that I may have taken out of context. To be fair, I'm not a professional journalist and doubt very much that my blog will ever reach the critical mass that the New York Times does. However, the information is readily available to anyone who truly wants to make an informed decision come Election Day in November. With that in mind, over the next several days and weeks, I'll be posting excerpts from the websites of both the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney and the incumbent Democratic candidate, Barack Obama. It goes without saying that I will be adding some color commentary, but the content will be from the candidates themselves.

First up, Mitt Romney's plan for jobs and economic growth.

Fostering job creation through economic growth will be Mitt Romney's top priority from his first day in office. Romney plans to introduce 5 bills on his first day in office:

• The American Competitiveness Act: Reduces the corporate income tax rate to 25%
  Given that the U.S. has the distinction of having the highest corporate income tax rate on the planet (39.2%), this sounds like a good idea. However, what Romney neglects to say is that Obama has a similar proposal to cut the corporate tax rate (though only to 28%) and that even if this tax cut goes through, the U.S. will continue to have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, so it is not exactly clear to me just have much of any impact this will have one way or the other. I suspect not much, but it sure sounds good, don't it?
• The Open Markets Act: Reinstates the president’s Trade Promotion Authority to facilitate negotiation of new trade agreements.
  Pretty much every President, regardless of party affiliation wants this authority. Basically, this legislation allows the President to expedite the implementation of free trade agreements, like the ones Obama signed with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. So good luck with that, Mr. Romney. Unless the Republicans take control of the Senate, Romney will face the same obstacle that Obama has. Oh, didn't you know? Obama tried to renew the bill but got rejected by the Senate.
• The Domestic Energy Act: Directs the Department of the Interior to undertake a comprehensive survey of American energy reserves in partnership with exploration companies and initiates leasing in all areas currently approved for exploration.
• The Retraining Reform Act: Consolidates the sprawl of federal retraining programs and returns funding and responsibility for these programs to the states.
  I'm sure there is a "drill, baby, drill" reference in here, someplace. Here's the thing. Domestic oil production is at a 10 year high as are stockpiles, not that gas prices reflect that (which is where I suspect, Romney is going with this). Most experts agree that supply is not as much of a factor as speculation when it comes to the price of oil.
• The Down Payment on Fiscal Sanity Act: Immediately cuts non-security discretionary spending by 5%, reducing the annual federal budget by $20 billion.
  A whole $20 billion? Whoop-de-do! That amounts to just over 1.5% of the 2012 budget deficit. Way to reach for the stars, big man.

Tax Policy: Romney will hold the line on individual income tax rates and eliminate taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains for low- and middle-income taxpayers. He will eliminate the estate tax. He will immediately lower the corporate income tax rate, and then explore opportunities to further lower the marginal rate while broadening the tax base. He will also begin the process of transitioning to a territorial corporate tax system. A territorial system must be designed to encourage multinational companies to bring their profits back into the U.S. and it must avoid the creation of incentives for outsourcing. Great news for all of lower and middle-class working class stiffs who lie awake at night trying to figure out how to shield their stock portfolios and inheritances from the big bad tax man. And don't even get me started on which off shore tax havens I should set my my "blind trust" in.

Regulatory Policy: As president, Romney will work to repeal laws like Obamacare and Dodd-Frank that have given bureaucrats unprecedented discretion to craft unpredictable, job-killing regulations. Romney will also initiate the immediate review of all Obama-era regulations with the goal of eliminating any that unduly burden the economy and job creation. he will impose a regulatory cap on all agencies at zero dollars, meaning that an agency issuing a new regulation must go through a budget-like process and identify offsetting cost reductions from the existing regulatory burden. Other initiatives in a Romney Administration will include a new, cost-conscious approach to environmental regulation; an increased role for Congress in the approval of new regulations; and reforms to the legal liability system. So in a nutshell, if it is in any way connected to the Obama administration, it must be bad for business, stupid, illegal or some combination of all three. But hey, at least Romney is applying the same standard for everything.

Trade Policy: Romney will work to open foreign markets for American goods and services on terms that work for America. Romney will submit pending Free Trade Agreements to Congress, conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, and seek Trade Promotion Authority to pursue new trading relationships. He will also create the "Reagan Economic Zone," a multilateral trading bloc open to any country committed to the principles of open markets and free enterprise. Romney will also ensure that existing trade agreements are enforced. Romney will seek to build a constructive relationship with China on the basis of mutual respect, while also making clear that the United States will no longer tolerate Chinese practices that unfairly benefit their economy at the expense of ours. Yeah, I think we covered this already. I suppose, if Romney wins in November, that all this idyllic hyperbole (wishful thinking seems a bit harsh), won't really matter in the giant scheme of things.

Energy Policy: Romney will pursue an energy policy that puts conservative principles into action: significant regulatory reform, support for increased production, and a government that focuses on funding basic research instead of chasing fads and picking winners. Romney will streamline federal regulation of energy exploration and development so that the government acts as a facilitator of those activities instead of as an obstacle to them. He will significantly expand the areas available for energy development, including in the Gulf of Mexico, the Outer Continental Shelf, Western lands, and Alaska. He will strengthen partnerships with Canada and Mexico to expand opportunities for American companies in the development of those nations’ resources. And he will encourage continued development of unconventional reserves like shale gas and oil that hold enormous promise for expanding the base of U.S. reserves. Here's a fun fact. If you substitute Obama everyplace you see Romney's name, you pretty much have the same energy policy.

Labor Policy: Romney will protect the worker rights and employer flexibility crucial to innovation, economic growth, and job creation. His first step in improving labor policy will be to ensure that our labor laws create a stable and level playing field on which businesses can operate. Romney will seek amendments to the National Labor Relations Act that protect free enterprise, free choice, and free speech. The Act must be amended to ensure that it does not allow the National Labor Relations Board to constrain companies in their investment decisions. I don't profess to know squat about labor relations and, to be honest, I'm not sure the need for unions is the same as it was when they first came into being. The workplace has evolved a bit since 1827. However, I find it curious that in one breath, Romney says he will protect worker rights and in the next he plans to gut one of the organizations whose sole purpose is to do just that. And another thing, since when have worker rights and employer flexibility ever been in alignment?

Human Capital Policy: Romney sees two important objectives that America can pursue immediately to build on the extraordinary traditional strengths of its workforce. The first is to retrain American workers to ensure that they have the education and skills to match the jobs of today’s economy. The second is to attract the best and brightest from around the world. Romney will focus retraining efforts on a partnership that brings together the states and the private sector. Romney will also press for an immigration policy that maximizes America’s economic potential. He will raise the ceiling on the number of visas issued to holders of advanced degrees in math, science, and engineering who have job offers in those fields from U.S. companies and will also work to establish a policy that staples a green card to the diploma of every eligible student visa holder who graduates from an American university with an advanced degree in math, science, or engineering. That comment I made about Romney's Energy Policy above by and large applies here too.

Fiscal Policy: Romney will immediately move to cut spending and cap it at 20% of GDP and to cut non-security discretionary spending by 5%. He will also work to reform Medicaid, converting it to a federal block grant administered by the states, and he will provide the leadership necessary to make progress in reforming other entitlement programs. He will undertake a fundamental restructuring of the federal government that places the burden on the federal agency to establish why a program or service must be provided at the federal level and gives to the private sector and the states whatever functions they can perform more effectively. Finally, he will pursue a Balanced Budget Amendment. Yeah, yeah. Good for you.

Should you wish to draw your own conclusions, I applaud you. Here's where you need to go (click here). Next time we'll see how Barack Obama's plan measures up.