Best App Ever January 10, 2012March 26, 2017 Yesterday, a surprisingly good soft drink. Today, the best app ever. But first, a follow-up to yesterday’s item on JOBS. (Part I: Governor Romney’s claims of creating them – and of the President’s failure to do so – would make a used car salesman blush. Part II: our manufacturing woes stem more from our own structural problems than from low Chinese wages.) That second part is the opinion of an American manufacturer who lists these problems: “a deliberate lack of investment, a lack of an education system geared towards creating high end manufacturing workforce, the absence of a rational industrial policy, [and] a shortsighted focus on the near term bottom line.” Note that his list does not include “over-regulation.” Which brings me to . . . REGULATION AND JOBS If you watched the Republican debates over the weekend, you may have come away thinking that Democratic administrations kill jobs with over-regulation. Leaving aside 16 years of recent real-world experience that would seem – at the very least – to cast this theory into doubt (under the Democratic Clinton Administration, 23 million net new jobs were created; under the Republican Bush Administration, with all its efforts to accommodate business by weakening regulation, almost no jobs were created), what about the Obama Administration? The following references were offered Sunday morning by the DNC Rapid Response team. I’ve bold-faced a few of them: REALITY: PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS CHANGED THE REGULATORY CULTURE IN WASHINGTON TO REDUCE REGULATORY COSTS AND BURDENS The Bush Administration Imposed More Regulatory Costs In Its Final Two Years Than The Obama Administration Imposed In First Two Years. [The Hill, 8/26/11] President Obama Signed A Landmark Executive Order Requiring Agencies To Develop Tools To Eliminate Regulations That Are Ineffective Or Burdensome. [GPO.gov, 1/21/11] President Obama Issued A Memorandum Directing Agencies To Ensure They Do Not Place Unjustified Burdens On Small Business Owners. [WhiteHouse.gov, 1/18/11] The Obama Administration Issued A Memorandum Directing Agencies To Provide Taxpayers With Easier And More Comprehensive Access To Regulatory Information. [EOP Memorandum, 4/7/10] The Obama Administration Has, For The First Time Ever, Required Agencies To Engage With Members Of The Public Affected By A Potential Regulation Before They Issue A Notice Of Proposal. [Senate Hearing On Federal Regulation, 6/23/11] Bloomberg Found That The Obama Administration Had Approved Fewer Regulations Than The Second Bush Administration Through The First 33 Months Of Each Administration’s Tenure. [Bloomberg, 10/26/11] President Obama Initiated An Overhaul Of The Regulatory System Which Will Roll Back Hundreds Of Burdensome Regulations, Saving Businesses More Than $10 Billion In The Next Five Years. [Politico, 8/23/11] During The Obama Administration, Tens Of Millions Of Hours In Paperwork Related To Regulations Have Been Eliminated, Saving Businesses Hundreds Of Millions In Related Costs. [Senate Hearing On Federal Regulation, 6/23/11] Under President Obama, The IRS Has Made Changes That Will Save Taxpayers 55 Million Annual Hours In Tax Reporting And Paperwork Burdens. [Senate Hearing On Federal Regulation, 6/23/11] The Obama Administration Removed An EPA Regulation Defining Milk As An “Oil” Which Will Save The Dairy Industry $1.4 Billion In The Next Decade. [ORIA Speech, 5/26/11] The Obama Administration Removed Over 1.9 Million Annual Hours Of Redundant Reporting Burdens On Employers, Which Will Save Businesses $40 Million In Annual Costs. [Senate Hearing On Federal Regulation, 6/23/11] ☞ It is nonsense to think that Republicans are more eager than Democrats to eliminate stupid or over-reaching regulation. It is not nonsense to think that without sensible regulation of the kind Republicans generally oppose – especially as regards the air and water we share, but also as regards everything from tobacco and food safety to financial regulation – there would be a race to the bottom that would harm our collective health and well-being. THE BEST APP EVER I searched my iPhone app store for TED. It installed free in seconds and from now on, when walking or waiting, I can listen to one astounding short lecture after another. I started with this wonderfully hopeful 16-minute talk on surgery by Quyen Nguyen, herself a surgeon. And followed it with this fascinating if sobering 18-minute analysis of the “the global power shift” by Paddy Ashdown. I have dozens more in queue for later. This is amazing stuff, free, crystal clear, in your pocket. DNDN A sore subject to many of us – see here – but the stock was $11.91 on August 12, when I told you guru believed it would outperform, and last night it closed at $13.31. Guru: “They announced much better than expected revenue for December. The long arm of the hockey stick has begun.” If you own some, he’d hold on. Needless to say (especially with this one), only with money you can truly afford to lose.