The spotlight is now on the
fiscal cliff.
Yet the Washington political drama over year-end
tax increases and spending cuts will eventually end, as all do. Some business
leaders are already looking past it to a more difficult challenge: the decline
of U.S. competitiveness.
A recurring theme in the presidential campaign,
the USA's dominant position in the global marketplace has been declining for
more than a decade. It underlies the listless recovery, weak job growth and
decline of the middle class, economists say.
A coalition of business leaders is pressing Washington's politicians on longer-term to-do list. Its 200 items
include cutting corporate taxes, streamlining regulations, upgrading the
nation's crumbling infrastructure and creating a more highly skilled workforce.
The nation's $16 trillion debt itself is a deterrent to U.S. competitiveness
because it crimps government investment in education and infrastructure and
creates uncertainty among businesses about taxes and interest rates.
This article first appeared in USA Today. To read more of this article click here.