Are Obama’s White House policies anti-business?

Rep. Steve Scalise accused President Obama of not taking responsibility for national economic conditions and implied that White House policies and practices represent an anti-business position.

Speaking before members of the South Central Industrial Association, Scalise (R-Metairie), of the 1st Congressional District, which will encompass southern sections of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes once a new map of representation takes effect, said that Obama would rather blame others for a $1.5 trillion deficit, national unemployment levels at more than 9 percent and corporations sending jobs overseas, than take actions to boost business and the economy by supporting spending caps, reduced taxes and a balanced budget amendment.

“It really is a trying time for our country,” Scalise said. “If you look at where we are as a country, the problems we have are very straight forward and I think a lot of the solutions are very straight forward as well.”

The House rep said that dealing with the debt ceiling fight and a reduction in the nation’s Standard and Poor’s credit rating offers the public a view of infighting that is common in Washington.

“Spending money we don’t have in Washington is not something that is exclusive to any political party,” Scalise said.

The congressman compared current political and financial woes to conditions in 2006 when Republicans controlled the White House and Congress. “That year, the Republicans got fired because they were spending too much money, the deficit was $160 billion. Today, the deficit is $1.5 trillion. Almost 10 times worse than it was in 2006 [and] I didn’t’ think we should have been spending the $160 billion we didn’t have when the Republicans were running the House.”

Scalise supports a federal balanced budget amendment and said cuts, caps and priorities would set the tone for economic recovery.

“We [need to be] forced to set priorities just like families set priorities,” he said. “Just like businesses set priorities. Just like 49 states in this nation have to balance their budgets. Washington is the only place where we think we can just keep spending money.”

Scalise said that blaming partisanship, as practice, is more of an excuse than a reason for not being able to accomplish a balanced budget and boost business. “Do you think bipartisanship is new in Washington?” he asked.

Because of what he called shell games in Washington, D.C., Scalise said small business is bearing the burden of politics.

“If you talk to small businesses [owners] around here they will tell you that it is the regulations, and taxes and other policies by this administration that are keeping them from hiring people right now,” Scalise said.

The congressman said Obama policies have caused 13,000 jobs in south Louisiana to leave the country and added that creating jobs is the best way to increase revenue for government and the overall economy.

Scalise said the addition of 24 new taxes since Obama has been in office has financially limited what small business can do to invest in their communities or expand operations.

“You want to get America back to work … force the administration to move permits for companies that play by the rules,” he said. “[Businesses] don’t want to take jobs out of this country, but they also don’t want to go bankrupt. If you try to create jobs, you are under attack by this administration.”

Scalise said being an energy producing region means southern Louisiana businesses are living in the real world while the Obama administration is not.

“You wonder why unemployment is this country has been over 9 percent for more than 20 months? [It] is because they are trying to run jobs out of this country.”

“I was so impressed by listening to his remarks,” Terrebonne Economic Development Authority CEO Steve Vassallo said of Scalise’s presentation. “It is alarming what he had to say. [Policies of the Obama administration] make it more difficult for people in the economic development business when you are losing jobs. We are going to have to get more creative [to work around the government].”

Vassallo said Scalise’s conversational presentation fits well with the reality of the region. “It’s going to take education and creativity to get us where we need to go,” he said. “That’s not to say we can’t do it. It is just not going to be as easy as it could have been in a good economy.”

“I worked with Steve [Scalise] when I first got into the Legislature,” said state Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard (NP-Thibodaux). “He is very conservative. I just wanted to see how he [was] going to react to folks in this area.”

“Harry Truman use to have that plaque on his desk that said, ‘the buck stops here,'” Scalise said. “If there was a problem he would take responsibility. We are right to be responsible. It works.”

Congressman Steve Scalise receives a warm welcome from members of the South Central Industrial Association as he presents a pro-small business message to business leaders in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. MIKE NIXON