Words have meanings - and people listen
There were a number of times that words uttered by Obama created quite the stir with his campaign rhetoric. People certainly listened and internalized it. And dreamed and hoped for the future. Doubt me?
How about when he said that if Pakistan didn't do anything, he would invade to get Al Qaeda or Bin Ladin with American forces? Heads snapped around, jaws dropped, and Pakistan, politicos and military types, got real riled up. Understandably so, as it showed a lack of deftness of nuance of what his words had wrought. Decisions and plans were remade in a snap and I'm quite sure that some international relationships changed
Remember when he said that he would unilaterally renegotiate NAFTA? Shock waves through out the commercial world - what does this mean for trading, what does this mean business. What does this mean for MY business? Jonah Goldberg at NRO has this to add to the "words matter" (emphasis mine):
From a reader:I don't know if you're interested in this, but I feel like I'm actually ahead of the game here, so I have to share.Me: Just for the record, I have no idea how much of a factor the tax breaks for job creation are. Though I'm sure that the unemployment numbers would still be bad if John McCain had won. Nonetheless, it wouldn't shock me if the reader is right that this is a contributing factor in some hiring and firing decisions, at least at the margins.
November unemployment numbers were terrible... the steepest in almost 35 years.
Of course they were! The Obama tax platform stressed significant tax advantages for companies who "create jobs". What is the best way to "create a job"? How about destroying a job, going for a couple months short handed and then creating the job again when you can get a big tax break out of it?
Don't believe me? That is exactly what influential entrepreneurs are recommending to one another as a matter of survival.
We are naturally going to see huge job shedding as a matter of business tightening until business are sure they will get money back from the government just for doing business.
You may not care, but I'm excited that I know what is going on.
Of all the people in the world, the President's words are among the most closely listen to and interpreted by the movers and shakers. The latter will slice and dice those words, always seeking to understand not only their import for now but also the meaning for the future.
I find this plausable in those cases where there may be overstaffing or the owner sees a potential scenario (especially if things are iffy) to take advantage of the tax policies of an incoming Administration.
Law of Unintended Consequences - this is a classic case where government policy IS distorting the marketplace. Instead of running a business to the environment at hand, these entrepreneurs are running their businesses according to future tax policy.
Remember, businesses (contrary to what many may believe) are not in business to supply jobs. They are not in business to be "socially responsible", be providing "social justice", or anything else.
Except one thing: they ARE in business to make a profit. And if that means to take advantage of what politicians and policy wonks offer, so be it.
It does show that a smaller governmental footprint may indeed be the better one.
