In the last year or so, Republicans have fallen in love with "uncertainty." It started with the debate over whether to extend the Bush tax cuts, which, they argued, was necessary to end uncertainty so businesses could start hiring. Very quickly, the uncertainty cloud fell down on all kinds of issues, from health care to budget deficits. Today, we are supposed to need drastic budget cuts to reduce the uncertainty that a large national debt produces in the hearts of business.
Republicans often deride Democratic opponents for not knowing what it's like to run a business. But I've always found this line of argument reflective of a bizarre view of how businesses operate. I suppose we're supposed to believe that there are CEOs out there saying, "Man, I've got more orders than I can fill with my current staff. If I hired another 10 people, I could keep up with demand for my products, increase my revenues, and make more profit. But I just feel so uncertain about the national debt. ... Maybe I'll just put off hiring anyone for a while."
And if Republicans succeeded in imposing their budget cuts, is that CEO going to say, "Whew! Now that the federal budget has been cut, I know exactly what will happen to my business for the foreseeable future -- uncertainty is gone!" The truth, of course, is that businesses deal with uncertainty every day. Are new competitors going to emerge? Is the economy going to improve or worsen? Are the prices of the raw materials I use going to rise or fall? Is my factory going to get hit by a hurricane? Is that advertising I'm paying for going to produce more sales? Government policy matters to them to a greater or lesser degree depending on what kind of business they're in, but uncertainty is a constant. The idea that things are more uncertain now because the two parties in Washington have differing opinions on what policies to pursue, and uncertainty would be eliminated if we just did everything one party wants for the time being, is just absurd.
