Invictus over at The Big Picture wants Charlie Rose to ask this question of the GOP candidates:
“We repeatedly hear about taxes, regulations, and uncertainty standing in the way of job creation. However, the National Federation of Independent Business (“The Voice of Small Business”) surveys its members every month as to their “Single Biggest Problem.” Among the possible answers are both taxes and regulations, yet “Poor Sales” has, in fact, dominated for the past three years. Additionally, as we see in the chart, “Poor Sales” and the Unemployment Rate correlate very strongly, at about 0.87.
Given these facts, is it disputable that our problem is one of aggregate demand and that, if we could improve demand we could lower the unemployment rate notwithstanding the tax or regulatory environment?”
Is it disputable? Of course it is.
Saying that poor sales is the biggest problem facing small business is like saying that the biggest problem facing the economy is that it’s not doing very well. It has no content. It tells you nothing about an amorphous concept called “aggregate demand” and even if it did, it does not tell you how to increase aggregate demand.
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