The Bloomberg financial news service reported Tuesday that the United States has fallen behind China, India and Brazil as the best place to invest, according to the most recent Bloomberg Global Poll which surveyed 1,408 investors, analysts and traders.

 
Rep. Tom Petri said he is not surprised.  The cause, he said, is the growing uncertainty on the part of investors.

 
"This uncertainty has really been driven by an activist government," he said.  "The people who want to employ others are thinking, 'Well now, what new regulations are going to come out so far as health care is concerned.  What kind of taxes are we going to be paying next year and the year after?  And then there are new regulations being talked about, for instance, in the energy and financial areas and others."

 
"All of this increases uncertainty, and that makes it less likely for people to invest because they don't know what kind of a return they are going to get on their investment.  So, what we are doing is raising the cost of hiring workers in the United States.  And everything that has been coming out of Washington is doing that," he said.

 
Petri said that the Congress needs to "take a deep breath and examine the legislative record of the last 19 months, learn which policies have contributed to the current economic malaise, and begin making some necessary adjustments."