Runyan Talks Jobs, Economy with Moorestown Business Association

U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan (R-3) stopped by the Moorestown Business Association’s (MBA) monthly meeting Wednesday to talk about what else? Jobs. The economy.

And while the freshman congressman and former Eagles offensive tackle didn’t paint a totally bleak picture, his message was dire.

He said the government needs to get out of the way and stop trying so hard to create jobs directly, but rather “create the climate. To set the table. Because every time the federal government tries to create a job, it spends more money we don’t have.”

Runyan cited a statistic he heard recently from a JPMorgan Chase employee that the amount of money in checking accounts has doubled over the last four years.

“The money’s there. No one’s confident enough to go out and spend it and create and grow business,” he said. “We talk about it all the time. It’s the small business that are the bulk of the people that can create jobs and employ people in this country and we’re not allowing them to do it.”

Regulations and taxes—the United States now has the highest corporate tax rate in the world, after Japan just lowered theirs, according to Runyan—are strangling businesses that want to grow, he said.

The congressman brought up the measures his fellow Republicans in the House are taking to address unemployment, despite the public perception that they’re standing still.

“I can tell you there’s 15 jobs bills sitting on (Democratic Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid’s desk as we stand here today,” Runyan said, mentioning specifically the proposed “Keystone Pipeline,” which would pipe crude oil down from Canada to refineries throughout the United States and to the Gulf of Mexico.

The project has the potential to accomplish two things, Runyan said: Create an estimated 120,000 jobs and reduce the price of gas by $1 a gallon.

“That puts $3,000 a year back in (the average American’s) pocket,” he said. “You’re creating jobs and putting more money into people’s pockets without even really thinking about it.”

But Runyan also placed great emphasis on the role society as a whole has to play in turning around the economy and putting the country back together, as much for the next generation’s sake as for the current one’s.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about politics. It’s about leaving a better place for these kids,” he said. “And there’s probably not one person in this room who can say they’re leaving a better country for their children than they inherited ... Do we want to be known as the generation that destroyed this?”

The congressman also touched on a number of other current events during his talk before the MBA.

• On the Occupy Wall Street protests: “It’s not Wall Street that’s the problem. It’s Washington.”

• On soldiers returning home: “I can almost guarantee that the men and women that are fighting our battles overseas that are in their 20s, they’re not coming back here and desiring to start a family and desiring to raise children in this environment. There’s going to be less people in the system over the long haul until we get this turned around. It’s not sustainable.”

• On President Obama: “This is a time when you need to bring people together, not drive the wedges in between people and segregate everybody … You need people to follow you. To start with this campaign rhetoric in a time like now is frustrating, It’s not moving us forward.”

Check Moorestown Patch tomorrow for a “Talk of the Town” interview with Runyan in which he discusses why he ran for office, why his children attend Moorestown Friends School, and who was the hardest NFL defender to block.