America has always been the world’s innovator. No other country comes close to our volume of advances made in business, technology, health care and education. It’s no accident that we’ve become the most prosperous country in the world. Americans have always believed that tomorrow will be even better than yesterday. Until now.

A July Rasmussen poll found that only 36 percent of voters think America’s best days are ahead of us. Can we rediscover our sense of optimism and continue to deliver on the promise of a better tomorrow for our children and grandchildren?

I firmly believe the answer is “yes,” but it will only happen when Washington ends the assault on the American economy and its workers. New taxes on health care and bank loans and proposed taxes on energy, income and investments have combined to create an environment of uncertainty and pessimism that has resulted in slowing job and income growth.

Consider: Fred Lampropoulos of Merit Medical Systems Inc., a medical device manufacturer, recently told President Obama “there’s such an aggressive legislative agenda that business people don’t really know what they ought to do.” In his opinion Washington “is really what’s holding back the jobs.”

Tim Hudson, president of the Billings Association of Realtors echoed those sentiments with respect to the recovery of Montana’s real estate market; “In the worst case, there’s some fear and uncertainty about what our friends in Washington, D.C., are going to do.”

Grim reports 

The numbers tell a similar story:

A Bloomberg poll of investors finds that 77 percent of U.S. respondents believe Obama is too anti-business.

JP Morgan reports a 30 percent increase in “cash on the sidelines,” essentially money that’s being held back from investment due to uncertainty and fear of new taxes and regulations.

Attacks on employers and investors, health care and energy companies and “the rich” have never put people to work. As economic historian Dr. Robert Higgs has conclusively demonstrated, the “progressive” New Deal’s anti-business agenda and rhetoric, new taxes and expanded regulations slowed economic recovery and prolonged the Great Depression. And now we’re repeating that grim experience by following the same job-killing policies that failed in the past.

There appears to be no end in sight. The latest proposal is to eliminate the tax credit American companies receive for paying taxes to foreign governments. America’s corporate tax rates are already the second highest in the world and we are the only developed country that requires domestic firms to pay taxes on income earned overseas. Eliminating this credit for taxes paid would mean American companies would pay taxes twice on the same income, putting them at a global competitive disadvantage.

Ill-advised tax hike 

This proposal is particularly troubling for Montana because the tax increase targets oil and natural gas companies, many of whom are Montana employers. Oil and gas production in Montana has been the one bright spot in employment and is the only source of state revenue that is actually meeting projections. This proposed tax hike would increase oil imports and raise energy prices, hurting Montana’s businesses, farmers and ranchers and consumers.

Does fewer jobs, higher energy costs, less state revenue and more imported oil sound like an agenda for economic recovery to you? Me neither. Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus have been in lockstep with Obama’s new regulations and taxes but Montana’s workers need them to demonstrate some independence. Rejecting new taxes on Montana’s energy industry would be a good place to start.

Montanans work hard, our kids are smart and we have the resources and skills to compete in the global economy if Washington will let us. Montana and the country can emerge from this recession stronger than ever if we’re smart enough to avoid the mistakes of previous progressive administrations. Our senators must make policy choices that get government out of the way and make room for the return of our natural optimism and talents.

Jason Priest is the executive director of the Montana Growth Network, an advocacy group committed to making Montana more business friendly.

 This Guest Opinion Appeared in the 08/28/10 Billings Gazette.