Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA), majority leader of the 112th Congress, visited the Hoover Institution on Monday, March 21, 2011, to discuss the economic policy concerns facing our nation. Cantor met with director John Raisian and Hoover fellows, including Condoleezza Rice, Gary Becker, John Cogan and Michael McConnell in a closed meeting preceding his speech in the afternoon.
Cantor discussed economic matters facing our nation today. He quoted an excerpt from Herbert Hoover’s 1959 mission statement, emphasizing how private enterprise and representative government are key factors to a successful economy. Cantor also discussed the importance of applying ourselves intellectually and creatively, and striving for strong leadership. To shift to a more prosperous environment, he insisted that we must “get people back to work.”
Cantor proposed solutions to our economic problems, including more competitive taxes, a reduction of the corporate tax by 25 percent, and more viable free trade. “Obamacare and Dodd-Frank are sedatives to job growth,” Cantor stated. He advised a two-track approach: cut government and grow the economy. The first component aims to stop spending non-existing funds and manage existing funds more effectively. The second component aims to grow businesses, creating more jobs and encouraging innovation. He briefly discussed China, its relationship to the United States, and its admiration for centers of US innovation such as Silicon Valley.
In conclusion, Cantor described his personal experience, as the grandson of immigrants, to emphasize how anyone could attain the America dream. His grandmother sacrificed tremendously, working day and night, to send her two sons to college. Everyone, he said, should be given “a fair shot and opportunity to succeed.”
