This past week I had the opportunity to go sailing for the first time in several years. In just a few minutes, all of it came back. . .how to turn the motor to steer the boat out of the marina. . .how to turn the boat directly into the wind to raise the mainsail. . .how to trim the sails. . .how to use the wind to propel the boat through the water.
For most of the afternoon, my wife steered the boat, while I handled the lines and sails. I noticed that she would often move the tiller in the wrong direction, which resulted in our sails flailing in the wind. During these times, I watched as the knot meter moved from five to four to three to two to one. The boat nearly stopped dead in the water before she turned the tiller in the right direction, allowing the sails once again to fill with wind.
It dawned on me while out on the water that a sailboat is a lot like the American economy. Our economy only needs to be steered in the right direction with a steady hand before it begins moving and gains momentum. But with too many turns in the wrong direction, our economy loses speed and is soon dead in the water.
President Barack Obama is clearly an inexperienced sailor, having never been the captain of anything before he was given the tiller of the world's largest economy. Instead of allowing our sails to fill with wind, he's seemingly done everything possible to take the wind out of the sails.
His health care law has created a lot of uncertainty with business and industry, as companies do not know how much this new law will eventually cost them on their bottom line. As a result, business leaders are afraid to make large capital investments or to hire additional workers.
The Obama Administration's commitment to raising taxes on job creators has also taken the wind out of our sails. Those who create jobs are leery of hiring additional workers until they know if, when and how much their taxes will increase.
The Obama Administration's overregulation of our domestic fossil fuel resources -- from coal to oil and natural gas -- has slowed down or stopped new investments, because energy companies don't know if or when they can expect a return on their investment, or if the EPA will simply try to shut them down with new regulations.
In short, the policies adopted by this administration have been more like an anchor than a sail, and the American economy has suffered because of the President's inability to captain our proverbial ship.
With America in the midst of an economic storm of unemployment and our ship essentially dead in the water in terms of economic growth, it's vitally important that we have an experienced captain at the helm. We desperately need a captain who clearly understands the economic sails of capitalism that power America. One has to believe that someone who has actually grown a business and governed a state would have the experience necessary to right our ship.
That captain clearly isn't Barack Obama.
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