Economy

The November jobs report, which showed nearly twice as many Americans dropped out of the labor force than found work, underscored the deep and systemic problems still affecting the economy. One of those areas is our outdated tax code. Over the years, it has grown too complicated and cumbersome, and it is fundamentally unfair. There are many drivers of our sluggish economy, but we never will recover the jobs lost during the recession unless we undertake comprehensive tax reform.

With our nation in the midst of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression, you would think policymakers would be focused on reducing barriers to job creation. Not so. High unemployment has many drivers, but one of the most obvious culprits is over-regulation.

Unnecessary regulations and their unintended consequences are self-inflicted wounds on our economy. They drive up the cost of doing business, leaving employers with fewer resources to hire and invest. Instead of making job creation easier and cheaper, Washington has been making it harder and more expensive.

Over the past several weeks, Washington has had multiple opportunities to address the nation’s massive spending problem. Instead, the only thing Congress was able to accomplish was prove again how broken Washington has become. Despite the setbacks, we must redouble our efforts to end the unsustainable spending going on in our nation’s capital.

The holidays are a special time to reflect on the past year, to celebrate, and to give thanks for the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy as Americans. President Ronald Reagan reminded us of our blessings in his 1982 Proclamation on Thanksgiving Day: “I have always believed that this anointed land was set apart in an uncommon way, that a divine plan placed this great continent here between the oceans to be found by people from every corner of the Earth who had a special love of faith and freedom.”