Obama's Anti-Business Attitude

After Barack Obama’s victory in November 2008, widespread joy seemed to be the rule among most parts of American society. However, in the face of the current economic crisis, Western government, andespecially the American one, have had a hard time implementing effective measures without encuring the anger of voters and consequently running the risk of being given the boot in the midtermelections of November 2nd.

In this article from The Economist, the columnist passes a very harsh judgment on Barack Obama’s anti-business attitude. He considers that the predicament in which presidentObama know find himself stems from two deeply engrained behaviours of his. First, Barack Obama seems reluctant to support American owner-managers, as evidenced by the latest survey carried out byBloomberg, according to which three-quarters of American investors believe he is against business and does not understand their trade or their desire to receive tax cuts in order to hire people. The absenceof anyone with a business background in Mr Obama’s team has also reinforced the perception in corporate America that the president is anti-business and some experts now consider that this commonbelief has started to have a psychological effect on how firms invest. Some chief executives have publicly accused the Obama administration of creating a hostile environment for investment and jobcreation, as the administration’s regulatory expansion into every sector of economic life is making it harder create new businesses. Indeed, Americans, believing as they do in self-reliance, resent any kindof government intervention to help needy citizens, as it would imply further taxes on those who were able to make it on their own, a policy the main part of the US population deems unfair. The BusinessRoundtable, an influential trade association, has also published a 49-page list of current policies which, it claims, inhibit economic growth. Thus, many American investors feel like Barack Obama...