Letter: House Candidate Semon Says Government Should "Get Out of the Way"

The following was a letter to the editor submitted by 7th district congressional candidate Jeff Semon. It does not reflect the views of Medford Patch:

As summer comes to a close, we start to think about our children returning to school and our vacations ending, we also start to think about getting back to work. Unfortunately, for millions of Americans, there are no jobs to return to.

During President Obama’s time in office, the unemployment rate has been unacceptably high, falling below 9% only once since 2008 (8.9% in April/May of this year).  Of course, the official unemployment rate does not include those who have stopped looking for work or are under-employed. For three years, we have endured the Obama depression. This President’s ineptitude is a primary cause of our economic doldrums--and any plan that he delivers will be filled with the same tired Keynesian gimmicks that failed just months ago.

We need government to get out of the way. Conversely, our own Congressman, Ed Markey, is leading the charge to heap MORE regulation upon the private sector, further inhibiting America’s ability to create jobs. President Obama and the Democrats in Congress are either unwilling to recognize their policy failures, incapable of understanding why their policies failed or intentionally implementing policies that will CAUSE America to fail.

We have seen how attempts to integrate government with business have resulted in outrageous corporate welfare. Nationally, corporate subsidies and bailouts (e.g. General Electric and GM/Chrysler) must never be repeated. Locally, the Mass Biotech Initiative and Evergreen Solar provide further evidence of government picking winners and losers--both unwisely and unsuccessfully.  Pitfalls like these will only be avoided when strong business experience is a benchmark for our representation in Washington.

Right now, the best thing for the government to do is to provide an environment of stability: Creating corporate tax rates that encourage domestic investment rather than pushing it overseas; establishing regulations that protect citizens without stifling business growth; focusing on core government spending that doesn’t pile on to our already outrageous deficit and debt.

Unless Barack Obama comes back from his Martha’s Vineyard vacation with a new conservative economic philosophy, we can expect the President and his Democratic colleagues to claim that higher taxes and more government spending are the answers. Politically, he realizes that Republicans – rightfully, I might add – will oppose these types of initiatives. This gives the President the opportunity to claim that Republicans are just being obstructionists who won’t allow him to “help” the economy.

The GOP needs to hold firm and not allow “progressive” Democrats to pass another round of ill-advised and ill-conceived economic measures. Additional “stimulus”, especially the type that’s allocated directly to the President’s political supporters, will simply not work. Taxing job creators will only limit economic activity and decrease investment, not “save or create” jobs.

Our nation has weathered many storms, but the constant barrage of progressive / liberal ideology permeating our government will ultimately destroy our economy and threaten our children’s future. Our best, (and our only option at this point), is for every citizen to get involved, support common sense conservatism and VOTE REPUBLICAN.    

Jeff Semon (pronounced Simone) is a Candidate for US Congress in what is currently the 7th Congressional District. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst - School of Management, Mr. Semon is a financial systems analyst. He and his wife Nicole live in Lexington and are expecting their first child in December. His campaign website is http://Jeffin2012.com.