Job creation & tax parity

Does the president owe me a job? From a Republican candidate going for the nomination of the "small government" party, I would expect a resounding "no." However, that bit of logic didn't stop Mitt Romney's on the evening of his marginal Super Tuesday win.

"To the millions of Americans who look around and can only see jobs they can't get and bills they can't pay, I have a message: You have not failed. You have a president that has failed you, and that's going to change."[Source]

Though the economy always takes center stage in an election, I don't believe presidents are responsible for how the economy is doing. After all, the only way presidents can truly create jobs is if they hire more government workers, either by raising taxes (at present taxpayer expense) or with debt (at future taxpayer expense).

Thomas Donlan of Barron's seems to agree.

"Presidents and members of Congress don't create jobs. They just rearrange jobs in the marketplace by taxing or subsidizing investment or operations...by moving capital from dismal operation to better opportunities. [Source]

I don't expect the president to give me a job or anyone else. Neither do credit agencies don't bother him if I don't pay my bills. I've never heard a soldier get away with the excuse that "the president failed me," because -- up to now, at least -- they know that doesn't work.

Unfortunately, it seems to work on the campaign trail, though.

What I would like to see, though, is an adjustment of the corporate tax rate to match competitor nations. As this graph from the February 25th issue of the Economist shows, we're about 25 years behind the times.

What a president can do is change the business climate. The problem now is -- in this world of multinational enterprises that often dwarf small nations -- can we make up for the lost government revenue?

We may have to move it to the individuals -- taxing dividends and capital gains higher.