Washington, D.C., Mar 15 -

Abraham Lincoln has many famous sayings, including “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” That doesn’t prevent Washington from trying.

This month the House passed legislation that it called a “Jobs Bill.” The problem is that Washington cannot create jobs. Real job creation happens when entrepreneurs and innovators start a new business. Not every small business succeeds, but every big business starts out as a small business.

In fact, a new study on job creation by the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City suggests that young, fast-growing firms create ten percent of new jobs in a year. The average firm in the top-performing one percent generates 88 jobs each year. By contrast the average company only adds two or three new jobs each year.

Washington does play a role in job creation. We need policies that reduce taxation, regulation and litigation. I want small business to spend their time growing their business and adding workers. Right now too many small business owners are spending too much time filing out regulatory paperwork or trying to understand our complex tax code.

In the coming months you will see a lot of legislation with jobs and stimulus in their title. If Washington really wants to help create jobs, the only way to do it is to put the right policies in place that allow entrepreneurs and innovators to flourish.