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Roadmap for Growth - Executive Summary

The United States is at a critical juncture. The deep recession and weak economic recovery have left one in 10 American workers without a job, and our federal budget is driving our country’s debt to historically unprecedented levels.

The Business Roundtable believes that the nation’s business community, the White House and Congress must work together to encourage the investment and innovation necessary to restore our nation’s economic growth. This Roadmap for Growth details our recommended action plan.

What We Need: Holistic, Growth-Oriented Policy

As the world economy expands—95 percent of the world’s consumers today are outside the United States—we need American policies that ensure U.S. companies can compete on a level playing field and continue to deliver the improvements in quality of life that Americans have enjoyed in recent decades. Piecemeal policies to address specific issues in areas such as energy, taxation or health care, often have unintended negative consequences for employers and the economy. There currently exists an atmosphere of uncertainty, with many businesses postponing investments and hiring decisions as they assess how they will be affected by new mandates.

In this increasingly competitive environment, the nation’s leaders need to consider the impact of every policy decision on American businesses and their ability to grow, create new jobs and compete in the world market. Our leaders must be aware that other nations are looking to enhance their own competitiveness. If U.S. firms are to continue to be more productive, innovative and efficient, U.S. policies must change.

Business Roundtable has created this Roadmap for Growth, which comprises policies to achieve growth and create jobs. The ideas we outline here are data-driven recommendations for policy changes that should be acted upon now, not later.

Business is prepared to work with the U.S. government to develop growth-oriented policies. At Business Roundtable, we see the need for action in five key areas:

  • Fiscal Policy
  • Market Access
  • Education
  • Government Regulation
  • Energy and the Environment

The following plan lays out specific recommendations in each of these areas. Together, these policies comprise a holistic plan to drive sustained economic growth in the United States and position our nation as a global leader in the 21st century.

The nation’s business community can help guide the way. U.S. business— large and small companies alike—is the engine of growth for our economy and we understand what is necessary to help our economy recover. Business must therefore be a partner in creating policies to speed recovery.

American Business: Poised to Lead the Way

Businesses are the foundation for economic growth. They create jobs; they innovate, manufacture and provide the services that drive the economy; and they have the technology, expertise and capital to play a pivotal role in restoring our nation’s economic growth.

As CEOs of our nation’s largest companies, Business Roundtable members know that it is essential to our future domestic success that American businesses are competitive at home and abroad. We stand ready to work with lawmakers to help achieve a common understanding of the unforeseen consequences that poorly considered regulation and legislation can have on the competitiveness of American businesses, and on the country’s ability to remain a global economic leader and create new jobs. We stand ready to work together with elected officials to help define clear policies that will make the future more certain and firms more optimistic.

Right now, we have a historic opportunity to put in place the right policies to create jobs and foster economic stability, but we must work together. Business Roundtable’s Roadmap for Growth is our pro-jobs economic strategy.

Source: Vureau of Labor Statistics
Note: Figures are from January of each year

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