Frustrated over an uncertain business climate, Wiregrass leaders peppered Congresswoman Martha Roby and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy Wednesday with questions about the path forward to job creation.
“We’re floating,” said Roger Burchett, new business development manager for Pepi Foods and a member of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce Board. “We don’t know what to grab on to. We don’t know what to believe, and for the first time in a long time, people are scared.
“Business leaders don’t act out of fear. We’re frozen. We’re at a point where we have discussed the problem ad nauseam. We’re paralyzed by a lack of leadership and a lack of specifics,” Burchett said.
Roby participated in a business roundtable with business leaders Wednesday at the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce Wednesday along with McCarthy, a Republican from Bakersfield, Calif.
McCarthy said American business now competes on a global scale, and compared the United States to a sprinter faster than his global competitors, but forced to start 20 yards behind the others due to “smothering” regulations.
“We have a tax system that encourages businesses to hold money overseas,” McCarthy said. “We have $2 trillion sitting on the sidelines in the private sector. We need to be working to remove the barriers to job creation, not erecting more barriers.”
McCarthy said small businesses and business startups will be the most productive job creators.
“The entrance to market has become too great,” McCarthy said. “It stifles innovation.”
Roby said clearing the way for job creation and reducing government spending were top priorities. She said she voted against the debt ceiling agreement after additional cuts to defense were added at the last minute. But Roby said people are willing to share the burden.
“I have been speaking with farmers in this district. They have been very upfront with me to say they are willing to take on their share of the burden, but they just don’t want a disproportionate share.”
Roby also said constituents should not be afraid of the word “compromise.” She said Republicans should work with Democrats on important issues without abandoning strongly-held principles.
Roby is a member of McCarthy’s “whip team”, a group of lawmakers that help round up votes for Republican bills. Roby also said, however, she has disagreed with leadership before and balks at the notion her vote is controlled.
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