OP/ED: Romney Knows How Jobs are Created

Our country’s job creators are waiting.  They are waiting for an America that instills confidence, encourages healthy achievement, and rewards responsible business behavior.  Until a new leader is elected, they are filled with uncertainty, anxiety and doubt, and are not likely to start a new company, grow their current one, or hire new employees.

As a business owner myself, I know this to be true.  Why would I expand my restaurant and risk subjecting my staff to a whole new set of suffocating federal laws and mandates?  Why would I buy that piece of real estate, wondering if the regulatory bodies will ever let me use the property?   Why would I invest if I know that I will be punished with new taxes?

Unfortunately, our current President's policies have not helped bring clarity, confidence, cost savings, or regulatory relief.  His plan is to continue more of the same.  It's time for a new direction and a proven job creator to lead the way.

I believe that man is Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney started his career as a business owner, not a politician.  He understands the choices and challenges business owners make every day.  As a businessman, he helped to fix once-broken companies into now-profitable ones and worked to build new enterprises, creating thousands of jobs. 

Take New Hampshire's own Brookstone as an example.  Before Mitt Romney and Bain Capital invested in the Peterborough-based company in 1991, news reports stated that the company was in "dire straits." During their investment and with Mitt Romney's advice, however, the company experienced a dramatic turnaround, opened more than 100 stores and added more than 740 jobs across the United States.  Brookstone's revenues tripled from $95 million to $270 million.

Mitt Romney understands that a strong and enduring economy is built by individuals and businesses, not the government.  He has a clear appreciation for what the private sector can and will do with sound policies that reassure, not discourage, innovation, hard work and success. 

While the economy in New Hampshire is better than most states, we still have 40,000 people looking for work and another 40,000 who have stopped trying to find a job.  Every one of us knows people who are "underemployed," making substantially less money than before.  Recent college graduates are having to compete with their parents for the same jobs, and in many cases struggling to pay down student loans as well. People are frightened about the prospects of a worsening economy, and they know that a second term for President Obama won’t bring any relief.

But we can turn this around.  We can elect a thoughtful and knowledgeable leader, who has rolled up his sleeves time and time again, to bring clarity, focus, direction, and results to organizations of all sizes and industries. 

America needs someone now who knows how to ignite our economy.  Mitt Romney has proven to me that he has the skills to do this, and has earned my vote.  I hope he has earned yours as well.

Laurie Sanborn

Bedford