(Guest Commentary) Mike Farris – Citizens for Self-Governance – Senior Fellow for Constitutional Studies, co-founder of the Convention of States Project
One of the reasons we have accepted the premise of the “lesser of two evils” in our voting decisions, is that we don’t have clear ideas of what “good” looks like. This is the fourth in a series of ten short articles giving a coherent philosophy on what we should be looking for in a President.
We are so inundated with talk of the lesser of two evils, some fundamental analysis of a constitutionally and morally sound president seems appropriate.
4. We need a president who believes that the best way to bring American jobs back from other nations is by making America a business-friendly environment.
America is losing far too many jobs to other nations. American companies are picking up entire operations and relocating American operations in other nations. We cannot have a robust economy if we outsource all of our manufacturing. We have to make things, grow things, harvest crops, develop mineral resources, and produce the supporting services for each of these endeavors if we are to have the kind of prosperity that reaches every American willing to work.
Businesses do not leave America because of the quality of our workers. Businesses pick up and go because our laws are unfriendly to business.
First and foremost, our corporate income tax is one of the highest in the world. Taxation represses incentives. The higher the tax, the less the incentive to create and grow businesses. Businesses are responsible to their shareholders for the bottom line. And while we should hope that they would do everything possible to keep American jobs in America, we don’t make it easy for them when there are far more favorable tax policies beckoning to them from beyond our shores.
We also discourage business by a confusing and crippling amalgam of state and federal regulations. All federal regulations of business (other than interstate shippers) are in violation of the original meaning of the Commerce Clause. If we return to our original legal foundations on this issue, America will become business friendly overnight.
Some states may be more heavy-handed than others, but the market will teach states that freedom produces more jobs and happier voters than oppression.
Presidents contend that their policies will help grow the economy. Balderdash. The only policy that grows the economy in a sustainable fashion is freedom. Less taxes. Less regulation.
Bring the good jobs home. These were the jobs that made the American middle class the envy of the world. It is not hard to see that government is not the solution but the problem.
A Constitutional president will lead the way to prosperity by getting the feds off the backs of innovators and workers alike.
Michael Farris is the Chancellor of Patrick Henry College and Chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association. During his career as a constitutional appellate litigator, he has served as lead counsel in the United States Supreme Court, eight federal circuit courts, and the appellate courts of thirteen states.
Farris has been a leader on Capitol Hill for over thirty years and is widely respected for his leadership in the defense of homeschooling, religious freedom, and the preservation of American sovereignty. A prolific author, Farris has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship by the Heritage Foundation and as one of the “Top 100 Faces in Education for the 20th Century” by Education Week magazine.
Farris received his B.A. in Political Science from Western Washington University. He later went on to earn his J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law, and his LL.M. in Public International Law, from the University of London.
Mike and his wife Vickie have ten children and 19 grandchildren.
