Obama: Playing to the Money Base

President Obama has indicated that federal regulations are preventing corporations from hiring, and he intends to de-regulate. Clearly a move designed to win support from Wall Street and the business community. When S&P 500 firms are making record profits and showing massive profit growth, his claim regarding the impact of regulation is tenuous, at best, and is clearly self-serving and business-serving.

Obama orders review of rules to boost economy - Yahoo! Finance: "President Barack Obama, in another move to smooth frayed ties with corporate America, ordered a far-reaching review of federal regulations Tuesday with the goal of weeding out rules that hurt job growth and creation. Republicans and business groups welcomed the step but suggested he do even more.

Business groups have bitterly complained that new regulations carrying out health care and financial overhaul, among others, are holding back hiring and economic growth...

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Obama's action is "a positive first step," said Thomas J. Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's biggest business organization.

But, Donohue added, "a robust and globally competitive economy requires fundamental reform of our broken regulatory system." He called on Congress to "reclaim some of the authority it has delegated to agencies."

Obama plans to give a speech to the chamber, with whom he has frequently locked horns over health care and financial regulation, on Feb. 7.

The National Association of Manufacturers said it "appreciated" Obama's call for a regulatory review, but called for Obama to demonstrate results by "delaying poorly thought-out proposals that are costing jobs," listing the EPA's proposals to regulate greenhouse gases as a prime example."