The recentreport that unemployment in the United States remained at 8.2 percent was taken as bad news by most Americans. The President, however, called it a “step forward” for the economy.

Stagnant job growth and high unemployment can hardly be taken as a positive sign for American workers. The struggling economic environment we find ourselves in is a result of the poor policies of the White House.

How can we help turn the economy around? New Hampshire’s small business-fueled economy and our relatively low unemployment rate serves as a model. Small businesses continue to work hard and are always looking for ways to expand hiring. If we stop adding new regulations that place a heavy burden on our businesses, a stronger economy will be the result.

We need efficient, common-sense regulations to promote growth in the economy. The President clearly does not understand that. His health care reform plan is an example of a regulation that places unnecessary new burdens on New Hampshire small-business owners and employees.

Health care reform may be necessary, but to go about it in a fashion that places new regulations on our small businesses will just create more problems. New taxes and overly complicated regulations are never the solution to economic problems.

Intelligent, common-sense regulations will help small businesses support our economy. Washington cannot continue to be an obstacle to their growth.

The reckless spending and expansion of the federal government that have highlighted the President’s first term will not help our small businesses recover. New taxes and more interference from Washington, like the President’s health care plan, only make it harder to achieve economic stability. When small businesses do not know what is coming next from Washington, how can they plan for a future of economic growth?

The President has lost touch with American taxpayers. A stagnant job market is not a positive sign, no matter what he believes. We want to focus on the economy and job creation; voters made that very clear in the last elections. Instead, the President continues to waste time with heavy-handed politics to force through a health care bill taxpayers opposed.

Spending time and energy on economic policies that will allow for job growth should be the President’s first priority, and New Hampshire’s low tax and limited government model demonstrates the most efficient way that government can foster a job-creation environment. It is necessary to focus on solving our economic problems if we are to move forward.

New taxes on families and overbearing regulations on small businesses will not fix the economy. When have these tactics ever created new jobs? I have spent my life helping create jobs in the private sector, and I can tell you what every small business person knows — bigger government leads to weaker economies and fewer jobs.

Instead of wasting our time in Washington, the President must stop passing the buck and get to work for American families. We need smart policies that will allow our small businesses to hire new workers and get the economy back on track. Imposing needless regulations on our small businesses and placing new taxes on American workers clearly are not working.

When will the President stop blaming others for a stagnant economy and start working to fix the problems his policies have created? Look to New Hampshire, Mr. President, and together we can get America working again.

Raymond Pinard is the Principal and Chief Freedom Architect at Monticello Strategies, Deerfield.