Chamber warns no ecoomic recovery without widespread vaccination in U.S.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce presented an optimistic outlook for the nation’s economy, but acknowledged the potential obstacles and pitfalls along the road to recovery.
Chief among the chamber’s concerns — besides denouncing the violent outburst at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. — is tackling an ever-worsening pandemic.
As long as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in our communities, business will not be able to return to normal, indicated U.S. Chamber CEO Tom Donohue.
That means getting coronavirus vaccines into the arms of as many Americans as possible, as quickly as can be done.
“We won’t restore the jobs, growth and prosperity that were lost in 2020 until we eradicate the pandemic and get our economy firing on all cylinders,” said Donohue, calling on elected officials to “pull all the right policy levers” to inoculate the masses. He spoke during the Chamber’s 2021 State of American Business Address last week.
“This must include all the support necessary to get the vaccines widely distributed and administered — only then can we truly move past the pandemic and begin to shrink the extraordinary expenditures that have been necessary to keep the system afloat.”
The call for a vaccinated public was as much a plea to address an ongoing health crisis as it was part of a broader push for lawmakers to enact a business-friendly agenda in 2021.
Stamping out the virus is a start, but doing so wouldn’t instantly bring back every job that was lost in the last 10 months.
Donohue proposed a number of actions the federal government could take to grow the country’s workforce and “improve the standard of living for millions of Americans and get our economy growing even faster.”
One such policy goal, funding to improve the nation’s infrastructure, has been floated by elected officials on both sides of the aisle for years. Such a package could be more politically popular than ever though if viewed as a fast way to pump up the economy.
“It’s the number one way to raise productivity, create jobs and drive up incomes in a hurry,” said Donohue. “Our lawmakers should enact a fiscally and environmentally responsible infrastructure package that focuses on urgent needs like roads and bridges, modernizes our critical networks, and upgrades and expands technology like broadband.”
Along with infrastructure, the chamber is calling for additional money to be set aside to retrain unemployed workers in new sectors.
“Let’s find a way to pay for it, and let’s get moving,” said Donohue. “This year, there can be no excuses for failure.”
The U.S. must grow its workforce as well, Donohue continued, which means reversing recent anti-immigration policies and instead finding bipartisan solutions on immigration reform.
“Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” said Donohue. “Allowing the world’s most talented and industrious people to contribute to our economy drives growth, which in turn creates more jobs for Americans.”
Donohue’s also spoke out against enacting measures that could be harmful to business — specifically taxes and regulation.
Much of the federal government’s agenda for the last four years had centered around loosening rules and lowering taxes for businesses. With a new administration set to take over, there are fears the pendulum will swing back sharply in the opposite direction.
“Remember, before the economic shock of the pandemic, the U.S. economy was healthy and strong, thanks in no small part to pro-business policies and regulatory relief that unlocked growth,” said Donohue.
“Now is exactly the wrong time to further test the resiliency of businesses by hiking taxes or heaping on new regulations that do more harm than good.”
Donohue pledged against new regulations and taxes.
“The chamber will use every tool at our disposal — including in the courts — to protect our recovery, our competitiveness, and our economic future from the regulatory overreach at home and abroad that could undermine it all,” said Donohue.
Donohue also stressed the importance of reworking trade deals, acknowledging the economic future of the U.S. is tied to global engagement, but contending it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure a level playing field between partners.
“On the one hand, China is by far the largest fast-growing market for U.S. companies,” said Donohue. “For the good of our own economy, and the world’s, we have to seize those opportunities.
“At the same time, we have to confront the unfair trade and industrial policies that China uses against U.S. companies. We must work with our allies to stand up to China, while also pursuing new negotiations with Beijing to protect our intellectual property.”