Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions organization conducted “The Real Jobs Summit” in Cincinnati Thursday to counter the White House’s Forum on Jobs Creation and Economic Growth. His group’s jobs platform includes excellent proposals, including many concerning taxes and expanded energy production, policy areas given insufficient attention during the White House program.

Gingrich also writes an op-ed in today’s Washington Examiner, “Crashing the Obama jobs summit,” that cites the views of Paul Taylor, head of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association. (We blogged about Taylor’s comments yesterday.) Gingrich:

In an interview with a Pennsylvania newspaper in anticipation of the president’s visit, Taylor delivered a point-by-point repudiation of the White House and the Democratic Congress’ big-government, big-spending, high-taxing plan for the economy.

Taylor expressed the same concerns I heard this week in a series of “Real Jobs Summits” with small-business people and entrepreneurs in Cincinnati, Ohio and Jackson, Miss.: Out-of-control government spending and bureaucratic red tape in the form of Democratic health, cap-and-trade and big-labor legislation are crippling America’s engines of job creation, our small businesses.

Gingrich is a fierce partisan, obviously, and so casts the arguments in a partisan political terms. But yes indeed, the policies — and the uncertainties they represent — are major impediments to jobs creation. (See Irwin Steltzer in today’s Examiner, “Job creation requires certainty, not government action.”)

House Republican Leader John Boehner — a former manufacturer — also made the argument about uncertainty in criticizing the White House event. From CNSNews.com, “Obama’s Snub to Chamber of Commerce in Keeping With ‘Job Killing’ Policies, Boehner Says“:

“I know what it takes to meet a payroll,” Boehner said. “What it means to create jobs. And without certainty, without some confidence about what tomorrow’s going to bring, I’m not going to move.“Look at all of these policies that are being proposed,” Boehner said. “Tax rates that are so uncertain – it’s no surprise to any of us that employers continue to do nothing.”

Yes, tax policy must be a priority in any discussion of jobs and U.S. competitiveness.

From EnergyTomorrow.org, the American Petroleum Institute’s excellent website and blog, “Missed Opportunity at the Jobs Summit”:

API’s President Jack Gerard and Devon’s CEO and Chairman Larry Nichols called the White House Jobs Summit a “missed opportunity” during a conference call with reporters this morning, and wondered why the oil and natural gas industry was not invited.

America’s oil and natural industry employs and supports a total of 9.2 million U.S. jobs. It powers most of the energy that heats U.S. homes, fuels factories and offices, and gets people to home and work. It also adds more than $1 trillion to the national economy.

Yet, Larry said today that despite the fact that the industry asked to attend today’s Jobs Summit, he was not aware of anyone from an oil and natural gas trade association or a traditional energy company who had been invited.

Brian Faughnan, writing at new project, TheConservatives.com, “An Idea for the Job Summit: Stop the War on Coal.”

It’s true business trade associations were left off the attendee list for the White House gig, which is OK. The White House is generally quite good about taking input from people, and there are many fine manufacturing thinkers attending.

Still, we had to laugh at the explanation for the associations’ absence, as paraphrased by the Washington Post today in the preview story, “As Obama opens jobs summit, he faces limited options for growth“:

The White House, which has clashed with some of the business groups over their opposition to health-care reform and other initiatives, says it has met repeatedly with those organizations and wants to hear fresh ideas.

Oh, c’mon now. The fresh ideas of Anna Burger of the SEIU? The novel, innovative thinking of Leo Gerard of the Steelworkers?

UPDATE (3:05 p.m.): API issued a news release with its morning conference call.

UPDATE (3:14 p.m.): White House has released list of attendees. The fresh ideas of Andy Stern! The outre observations of Robert Reich!

Starting at 1:20 p.m. with President Obama and Vice President Biden.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

There’s a Facebook page for commenting and stuff.

http://apps.facebook.com/whitehouselive/

UPDATE: Here’s the list of attendees.

Reuters has a good nuts-and-bolts piece on today’s White House Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth, scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. “FACTBOX: Obama’s jobs forum on Thursday” reports that both President Obama and Vice President Biden speak to kick things off.

The National Association of Manufacturers sent a letter to the President yesterday outlining specific policies that could promote jobs creation. Excerpt:

We at the NAM stand ready to assist you in advancing a growth and jobs strategy that
builds on a strong manufacturing base to serve our entire nation. In recent weeks you have
emphasized the importance of exports in ensuring domestic growth, and we heartily endorse the necessary action to promote world trade. Tax policy must also figure prominently in any growth strategy, as the United States continues to be disadvantaged by having the second highest statutory corporate tax rate in the industrialized world.

For the White House Forum to focus most effectively on creating jobs and long-term economic growth, the NAM recommends it emphasize transportation and energy infrastructure. Investments in these areas not only create jobs, they also help build a foundation for U.S.
competitiveness. They belong at the heart of any jobs and growth strategy.

With 130 attendees and six break-out sessions, today’s forum reminds us of the March 5th “White House Forum on Health Reform.” That gathering had about 140 outside participants and five break-out sessions. Did that forum achieve anything?

That confab came early in the Obama Administration, so it was especially useful as an introduction to the White House’s views of the players and issues. Today’s forum? There are plenty of good topics on the agenda — exports, for example — and exchange of ideas is often helpful.

Coverage …

• CBS News, “Politics Today: Obama Explores Modest Steps for Job Creation“
• ABC News, “White House Jobs Summit: Real Progress or PR Stunt?”
• Politico, “Jobs summit to showcase administration’s jobs effort“

Not very much online at WhiteHouse.gov about the event, like a full list of attendees. We’ll post it when the White House does.

The Washington Post puts the issue on the front page today, and that’s good news judgment…in our judgment.

From “Nuclear power regains support“:

It has been 13 years since the last new nuclear power plant opened in the United States. But around the world, nations under pressure to reduce the production of climate-warming gases are turning to low-emission nuclear energy as never before. The Obama administration and leading Democrats, in an effort to win greater support for climate change legislation, are eyeing federal tax incentives and loan guarantees to fund a new crop of nuclear power plants across the United States that could eventually help drive down carbon emissions.

From China to Brazil, 53 plants are now under construction worldwide, with Poland, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia seeking to build their first reactors, according to global watchdog groups and industry associations. The number of plants being built is double the total of just five years ago.

Now that’s a good topic for the Dec. 3 White House Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth, unemployment in nuclear power. As NAM President John Engler told the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers on November 6:

As I’m sure you know, there hasn’t been a brand new nuclear power plant completed in the United States since the 1980s. We’re losing our expertise, our infrastructure, and missing out on jobs.

A typical power plant creates 14,000 to 15,000 jobs during pre-construction, up to 2,400 jobs during construction, and 700 permanent, high-paying jobs thereafter.

So real energy security – and jobs.

Reuters previews the President’s Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth, scheduled for December 3 at the White House. From “Obama jobs forum to seek growth boost on the cheap“:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama‘s December jobs forum may be better at serving his political need to show the White House cares about sky-high U.S. unemployment, than discovering new ways to cheaply boost economic growth.

Obama said last week he was interested in measures to speed job creation without spending money and warned that running up more debt could risk a double-dip recession.

The White House has already stressed that the December 3 jobs conference will not be about a second stimulus package.

The Reuters sidebar says six issues will be on the agenda:

• Boosting U.S. exports.
• Encouraging firms to accelerate hiring as demand picks up.
• Fresh steps to help small businesses get access to credit.
• Ideas to create so-called green, or energy efficient, jobs by encouraging energy efficiency and renewable technology investment.
• Infrastructure investment.
• Retrain workers in industries that have stopped growing to prepare them for more promising fields of commerce.

There are good things in that list. And if the goal is jobs without more government spending, then enacting free trade agreements is the way to go.

More commentary marking the third anniversary of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement:

• Heritage.org, “Guest Blogger: Rep. Hastings on US – Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement”
• U.S Chamber, Patrick Kilbride, “Three Years is Too Long for U.S. Jobs to Wait“
• Cato Institute, Daniel Griswold, “Colombia Trade Deal Enters Fourth Year of Limbo”
• Americas Quarterly, Eric Farnsworth, “Time to Act: the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement”
• Human Events, James M. Roberts, “US-Colombia FTA: American Workers Wait as Congress Dithers”
• Earlier, Doug Goudie, NAM, “Three Years of Missed Opportunity in U.S-Colombia Trade”

As the President said in his Saturday’s radio address:

This recession has taught us that we can’t return to a situation where America’s economic growth is fueled by consumers who take on more and more debt.  In order to keep growing, we need to spend less, save more, and get our federal deficit under control.  We also need to place a greater emphasis on exports that we can build, produce, and sell to other nations – exports that can help create new jobs at home and raise living standards throughout the world.

Exactly so. President Obama has scheduled a White House Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth for December 3. What a great opportunity to follow the words with action, on that day submitting the pending free trade agreement with Colombia to Congress and demanding its enactment.

The White House has set Dec. 3 as the date for President Obama’s “Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth.” Press statement, via Fox because it’s not yet posted at WhiteHouse.gov.

White House Announces December Date for Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth

After Forum, President Obama to Kick-off White House to Main Street Tour with Stop in Allentown, Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON, DC- The Obama Administration announced plans today to hold the Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth on Thursday, December 3rd at the White House. The forum will be an opportunity for the President and the economic team to hear from some of the best and brightest CEOs, small business owners, and financial experts about ideas for continuing to grow the economy and put Americans back to work.

“During these difficult economic times, we have a responsibility to consider all good ideas to encourage and accelerate job creation in this country. At the forum next month, I am looking forward to hearing from the private sector, from CEOs and small business owners and from Americans struggling to make ends meet on how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again,” said President Barack Obama.

The President will follow the forum with a visit to Allentown, Pennsylvania the following day where he will kick off a White House to Main Street Tour that will take him to cities and towns across the country over the course of the next few months. In an effort to spend some time out of Washington and take the temperature on what Americans are experiencing during these challenging economic times, the President will visit communities across the country over the next several months where he will speak with workers and share ideas for continued recovery.

We’ll be curious to see how this is any different than the Middle Class Task Force headed by Vice President Joe Biden, which also makes jobs its raison d’etre and traveled the country as well.

Two suggestions for improving the value of the forum (and kudos to the White House for using the term “forum” instead of the hyperbole of “summit”):

• Eschew the usual political rhetoric about “green jobs” and the “green economy.” The rhetoric is too easy a way to slip past frank economic discussions.
• Acknowledge that some policies pursued by the Obama Administration and Congress damage jobs creation. Billions of dollars of additional taxes on employers to fund the health care legislation raise the marginal costs of hiring. The incredible flood of regulations coming from the Environmental Protection Agency imposes compliance costs that discourage more productive capital investment. Raising the cost of energy under cap-and-trade will slow the economy. Be honest about it.