The following is an economic opinion piece written by Neil Hennessy, chairman, CIO and portfolio manager of the Hennessy Funds.
While our leaders in Washington are certainly doing a lot of talking, I am not sure, however, if they are watching or listening to what is happening in our nation. My parents raised me that when faced with a challenge, it is always more important to listen than to speak. What America needs is for Washington to stop talking and address the issues that are challenging the prosperity of our nation.
I have listened to many successful business leaders, politicians from both sides of the aisle, as well as numerous financial industry pundits and all seem to agree that the only sure way to bring about a solid economic recovery is through the ingenuity and determination of American business. What no one agrees on, and what all the talking is about, is how to do that. More government tax credits? More incentives? More short term subsidies? More quick-fix government policies?
Here are the facts. We are experiencing slow economic growth, unemployment is approaching multi-decade highs of 10% or more, and companies are hoarding cash at record levels. In fact, there is currently $2 trillion in cash sitting on the books of just the S&P 500 companies.
Why?
The ambiguity coming from our leaders in Washington has paralyzed American businesses, both large and small, leaving them few attractive long-term options for deploying cash reserves. Most companies with strong balance sheets deploy capital for long term gain in one of two ways: looking internally and expanding their business lines by hiring additional employees; or, looking externally and pursuing acquisitions. If businesses do not know what the healthcare costs for an employee will be, or what tax rates they will be charged, or even which rules, regulations, and oversight will apply to their specific industry, how can they possibly justify taking the risk to expand their business by hiring new employees? That leaves the alternative of acquiring other companies in order to help grow revenues and earnings per share for the benefit of their shareholders.
Herein lies the problem.
The acquiring company will endeavor to make their purchase accretive immediately, and to accomplish this there are normally immediate layoffs to eliminate workforce overlap. If laying off more workers does not sound like a good idea to you, then you are not alone. Unfortunately, I believe that trend has already begun and will continue until CEOs can clearly plan for the future.
Every proposal coming out of Washington seems more focused on short-term political gain than on the long-term health of our economy. The non-stop rhetoric and complete lack of actionable direction out of Congress and the White House is having a devastating effect on our economy. The current environment has crippled American businesses, who need to feel confident that government is on their side. Only then will companies start to hire again, and only hiring will get the U.S. economy back on track. Our government leaders can put into place any number of business tax credits and write-offs, but I guarantee that meaningful levels of permanent hiring will not pick up until our corporate leaders have definitive, long-term rules by which to play. Without clarity on the aforementioned issues, we will continue to experience a crisis of confidence on the part of corporate America, leaving the economy struggling and sputtering.
Washington, please listen and act so that we business leaders can begin hiring for the long term benefit of every citizen of the United States.
