Former CEO Delaney Concerned by Lowered US Business Climate Ranking
WASHINGTON – According to a new report by Bloomberg, Canada has passed the United States in terms of business friendliness. Bloomberg’s Best Countries for Business Report ranked Hong Kong first, Canada second, the United States third. Last year, Canada was sixth and the United States was second. The Bloomberg rankings used six criteria: economic integration, startup costs, labor and material costs, transportation, inflation and corruption, and the consumer base.
To view the rankings, click here.
Congressman John K. Delaney (MD-6) is the only former CEO of a publicly traded company in Congress.
Delaney releases the following statement:
“While the Bloomberg ranking is just one data point, this report should remind us that we have important work to do to maintain and improve our global competitiveness. Canada’s emergence as such a strong competitor should be especially concerning because with our shared border and common values, we are competing head to head in many cases. The Bloomberg ranking comports with other trends that suggest that we are losing our economic edge. As the President prepares for the State of the Union, I hope that he considers the importance of this problem.
“As a former CEO and entrepreneur, I entered public office to push for policies which make us more competitive. That starts with corporate tax reform and restoring our long-term fiscal health. We also must rebuild our nation’s infrastructure base, which is essential for a healthy business climate. We must invest in science and research and commit ourselves to training high-skill workers in engineering and technology fields by fully supporting education. Finally, we need comprehensive immigration reform so that the best and the brightest in the world can work and start companies here.
“The good news is that we have a strong entrepreneurial culture and the best workers in the world. Congress needs to take action to put our job creators and workers in a position to succeed, compete and win in a global economy.”
Delaney is the author of the Partnership to Build America Act (H.R. 2084) a bipartisan infrastructure bill that currently has 25 Democratic and 25 Republican cosponsors in the House. The legislation has also been introduced in the Senate and creates a $50 billion dollar infrastructure fund that can be leveraged to $750 billion. This fund will be capitalized by the sale of 50-year bonds that are not guaranteed by the Federal government and pay 1% interest rate. To encourage U.S. corporations to purchase these bonds, they will be allowed to repatriate a certain dollar amount – determined by auction - in overseas earnings tax-free for every $1 they invest in the bonds. The fund will then provide loans or loan guarantees to states and municipalities to finance transportation, energy, education, communications, and water infrastructure projects.
##