Even Detroit Knows Obama's Current Economic Course is a Disaster

The Detroit News ran an editorial on the morning of his visit for a Labor Day rally and didn't mince any words.  Here's part of it:

The answer is not more of the same. Obama can't ask for a second spending surge because there's no reason to believe that more spending will work any better than before. His reported plan to offer tax breaks to businesses that hire new employees is also a tried and failed tactic. A string of such one-time tax breaks stretching back to the Bush administration hasn't produced results.

The president must know that Republicans will not agree to accept more deficit spending. Throwing a plan on the table with no chance of bipartisan support will look more like campaign gamesmanship than a serious solution to the crisis.

Obama must listen to the job creators. They are shouting in almost a single voice that current policies are choking off growth. What's needed is a severe course correction.

Start with corporate taxes. The president has expressed a desire to make the corporate tax rate more competitive, and there is bipartisan support for reform. Lower the rate, close the loopholes and end selective credits, and the resulting economic growth should produce more tax revenue.

Growth is a smarter way to generate additional taxes from businesses than raising the rates and thus operating costs. The former approach creates jobs; the latter kills them.

The business community is also warning that a flood of federal regulations will limit growth and job creation. Obama should suspend implementation of any regulation with potential impact on the economy until the unemployment rate falls below 6 percent.

The Environmental Protection Agency in particular must be throttled.

The EPA's war on coal affects power plants that provide roughly half of the nation's electricity. In Michigan, DTE Energy says the new rules will take 20 percent of its capacity off line within three years. Without an assured supply of energy, companies will not invest in new facilities.

It keeps going like that. You can read it here.

Detroit is the poster child for the very economic policies Obama has supported up til now. It's a disaster, but don't look for Obama to be able to fix it. He has no clue what to do.