Below is a list compiled from our viewers of what many are considering to be hurdles facing the United States right now. What do you think?
1. Our addiction to foreign oil and our limits on domestic drilling.
1. Our addiction to foreign oil and our limits on domestic drilling.
2) The Dodd-Frank law (imposing unnecessary restrictions on financial institutions)
3) Free trade agreements w/ impoverished nations. We end up importing way more than we export and our companies outsource jobs for cheap labor.
4) Nationalization of health care. The restrictions imposed on physician owned private practices and hospitals will stifle innovation and entrepreneurship in medicine as the number of private practices decline after more people will be forced into medicaid because they cannot afford the private doctors who will only accept cash to opt out of increased insurance constraints. More and more doctors will either leave the field or move to a government controlled hospital on a tax payer funded salary and be encouraged unionize. The increased government controlled health care burdens and costs on taxpayers may pose ethical dilemmas as patient quality of life may be used to prioritize care.
5) a carbon tax ("cap and trade").
6) Increased government regulation and burdens on the private sector, which hinder private investment. The U.S. corporate tax rate is now the second highest among OECD countries.
7) Increased government spending and escalating debt forcing the Fed to keep interest rates artificially low, which causes commodity inflation and crowding out of private investment.
3) Free trade agreements w/ impoverished nations. We end up importing way more than we export and our companies outsource jobs for cheap labor.
4) Nationalization of health care. The restrictions imposed on physician owned private practices and hospitals will stifle innovation and entrepreneurship in medicine as the number of private practices decline after more people will be forced into medicaid because they cannot afford the private doctors who will only accept cash to opt out of increased insurance constraints. More and more doctors will either leave the field or move to a government controlled hospital on a tax payer funded salary and be encouraged unionize. The increased government controlled health care burdens and costs on taxpayers may pose ethical dilemmas as patient quality of life may be used to prioritize care.
5) a carbon tax ("cap and trade").
6) Increased government regulation and burdens on the private sector, which hinder private investment. The U.S. corporate tax rate is now the second highest among OECD countries.
7) Increased government spending and escalating debt forcing the Fed to keep interest rates artificially low, which causes commodity inflation and crowding out of private investment.
8) Overseas production and the deterioration of domestic jobs and production.
Export tax policies: Double taxation: Under our current tax law, U.S.-based multinational firms are taxed by the United States on their worldwide income, while foreign-based competitors are taxed only by the nation in which their businesses are located. This deters domestic investment and job creation, and exports.
9. Overextension of the military in expensive wars, killing off young Americans who would otherwise be working and “producing” in America.
9. Freeloaders and Government Enabling - 1 in 5 Americans rely on food stamps. That's a record high of 45.8 million Americans. Some states have expanded their definition of poverty to include more people. And the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act increased annual funding to the nationwide food stamp program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) by $10 billion and increased the maximum food stamp benefit by 13.6%, (an additional $20-24 dollars per person per month). And now unemployment benefits have been extended to last up to 99 weeks (2 years).
10. The America Invents Act 2011- We replaced our First to Invent (FTI) system and adopted the European First to File (FTF) way. Will increase backlog because of the rushed and incomplete filings which will require more filings and fees when every improvement is made. This puts small companies and individuals at a disadvantage to large companies with in-house patent attorneys. For a country that has always been the most inventive in the world, will this change discourage innovation?
11. Education: Labor Unions: The tenure system is stifling our education, providing job security to teachers regardless of merit.
11. Education: Labor Unions: The tenure system is stifling our education, providing job security to teachers regardless of merit.
