Action Essential for Economic Growth

In an open letter to the members of the U. S. Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, (aka the Super Committee) the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association, along with 155 other associations, have urged the Committee to exceed its savings mandate of $1.5 trillion.

Signatories of the letter include some of the nation’s largest and most influential business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Just to note, Mary Andringa, the 2011-2012 Chair of NAM and President and CEO of Vermeer Corporation, will be our guest speaker during the Friday afternoon business session of the Fall Convention.

The organizations urged the Committee members to ensure that we stabilize our nation’s debt and put the debt’s share of the economy on a downward path. The group believes this action is essential for long-term economic growth in our nation.

Some of the letter’s major points included:

“We believe it is crucial to act expeditiously to rein in spending, reform the tax code, reduce the deficit, and stabilize and ultimately lower America’s level of debt. Economic growth is critical to our nation’s fiscal health, and we believe that these steps will remove the threat of fiscal instability, improve certainty, and create a sustainable foundation for economic and job growth in the years ahead.”

“The U.S. tax system is in desperate need of simplification and fundamental, comprehensive reform that encourages investment and employment. We believe the primary goal of tax reform should be improving the nation’s long-term economic growth, which will lift Americans’ living standards and create jobs.”

“Globally, in just the past four years, 75 countries have cut their corporate tax rates to make themselves more tax-competitive and increase economic growth. America’s largest trading partners, Canada, Great Britain, and Japan, have all taken steps to become more competitive. Meanwhile, our nation’s small businesses are facing the prospect of a crushing 39.6 percent tax burden. We must have policies that lead to faster, more sustainable economic growth to employ and reemploy millions of Americans. Policies conducive to long-term economic growth are one of the keys to fixing the long-term fiscal crisis facing the country.”

“Regarding entitlement reform, our nation’s demographics will continue to put increasing financial pressure on our entitlement systems, as more than 70 million baby boomers begin their retirements starting this year. Reforms to major entitlement programs should be made as quickly as possible so that the benefits of current and near-term retirees are secured and changes in future benefits can be phased in over a period of time.”

We believe that putting in place a multi-year growth and deficit reduction strategy that reforms entitlements, implements comprehensive tax reform, and stabilizes the debt as a share of the economy is critical in creating the stability the business community needs, growing the economy, and restoring Americans’ faith in the political system. We strongly urge the Super Committee to take the steps necessary to achieve these critically important objectives.

As always, we encourage our member companies to be politically active and to share their views with elected officials and this Association.