Unemployment Report
Photo by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
And that sound you hear is the sound of balloons busting all over the country. Today, Obama penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that promised an executive order that would make sure that pre-existing and new regulations would first promote economic growth, while still protecting the public interest. Obama:

…creating a 21st-century regulatory system is about more than which rules to add and which rules to subtract. As the executive order I am signing makes clear, we are seeking more affordable, less intrusive means to achieve the same ends—giving careful consideration to benefits and costs. This means writing rules with more input from experts, businesses and ordinary citizens. It means using disclosure as a tool to inform consumers of their choices, rather than restricting those choices. And it means making sure the government does more of its work online, just like companies are doing.

We’re also getting rid of absurd and unnecessary paperwork requirements that waste time and money. We’re looking at the system as a whole to make sure we avoid excessive, inconsistent and redundant regulation. And finally, today I am directing federal agencies to do more to account for—and reduce—the burdens regulations may place on small businesses. Small firms drive growth and create most new jobs in this country. We need to make sure nothing stands in their way.

More here.

The logic embedded in this op-ed may well have been lifted from the Chamber of Commerce. Businesses must be given the freedom to innovate. Government must behave more like businesses. The public interest slowly erodes and more of the risk of living in a modern society is placed upon our backs. This is definitely a response to the November elections, but it’s important to understand that this isn’t the only response Obama could’ve made. It’s the response he CHOSE to make. This choice will not reduce wealth inequality. It will not reduce unemployment. It will not reduce citizen risk. These types of choices have electoral consequences. And they should. You can predict the progressive reaction by my reaction. But the interesting question for me, particularly given my next book project, is what will the black elite reaction be?