SOTUS Doesn’t Dispel Regime Uncertainty

In a poll of business executives following Tuesday’s State of the Union speech, the Wall Street Journal finds most remain skeptical of President Obama’s new, business-friendly rhetoric, and confirmed that his policies to date account for the continued economic malaise.

As encapsulated by Anthony Guzzi, CEO of Emcor Group Inc., a construction and facilities-services provider:

For two-and-a-half years now, capital has been afraid to invest in the U.S. in any substantial way.

As Robert Higgs’s extensive work on Regime Uncertainty has made clear, it will take more than sound bites to make American businesses invest again. And contrary to Obama’s Newspeak, “invest” means private money subject to private risks and rewards—not redistributing other people’s money.