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The Republicans used their GOP Weekly Address to do some more fearmongering over the deficit and to pretend that it's somehow stifling job creation in the United States. Small businesses aren't being created or hiring because they don't have customers, not because any of them care about the federal deficit.

What we need is a conversation about our trade laws and companies sending our jobs overseas while continuing to push for a race to the bottom in the US on wages. Instead all we get is this sort of nonsense which of course will be repeated by the beltway Villagers in the media who will just accept this snake oil as conventional wisdom.

As Jon pointed out in his post last week, these austerity measures aren't working out so well in the UK, but sadly it doesn't look like that's going to make a bit of difference to these politicians who are determined to starve the beast and destroy what's left of our middle class in America -- Meanwhile in the UK, the Hopelessness of Austerity.

JOHANNS: Hello, I’m Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska.

With debate in Washington focused on how best to address our nation's growing debt, it's important to remember the role it plays in our critical priority of job creation.

Policymakers tend to toss out the term 'job creation’ very broadly – it’s a very popular talking point. But what does it mean to create jobs?

The claim is often made that new federal policies will create jobs and paychecks for Americans.

The idea of government creating jobs; well, it simply misses the point entirely. That's just not how we get our economic engine firing on all cylinders.

Job creation in this country doesn't start with government; it starts with our businesses, especially our small businesses.

Small businesses create between 60 and 80 percent of all new jobs, according to the Small Business Administration.

Our small businesses, when free to grow and prosper, need more and more employees to sustain that success.

And that's economic growth.

That's job creation.

But, that’s stifled when the federal government...

... spends more than it takes in; throwing a very cold, wet blanket on the entire process.

The current record-setting deficits – and the $14 trillion plus in accumulated national debt - are serious impediments to job creation because they have a ripple effect right to Main Street.

Our job creators can't thrive in an environment where creditors pull back because of our government's debt, because without credit, small businesses can’t grow.

Our debt threatens to devalue the dollar which will lead to increased costs and interest rates, which has a chilling effect on small business growth.

The past two years of running up the debt are a testament to the fact that we can't spend our way to prosperity.

I've met a whole lot of business owners, and they never thank the government for creating jobs.

They thank me for getting government out of their way, so they can create jobs. A great example of this is the nine-month battle it took in Congress to finally repeal the 1099 tax reporting mandate, which the President has signed.

Job creators found themselves saddled with a mountain of costly new paperwork due to this part of the health care law.

Repealing it opened the door to hiring by closing the door on new accounting red tape that businesses would have faced.

Since then, I've heard directly from small business owners, thanking us for removing this stumbling block to growth, for saving them time and money, and for getting big government out of the way of small business. It was a collective effort.

Thousands of small business owners made their voices heard.

Their analyses allowed us to place the debate in a real-world framework, and I wholeheartedly thank everyone who supported freeing-up our job creators to create jobs. 1099 repeal was a big victory for our small businesses and our economy, but there's so much more to do.

The red tape and the bureaucracy continue to pile up from this Administration. In the State of the Union Address in January, the President pledged to eliminate, and I’m quoting, ‘burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs,’ unquote.

Since then, his Administration has proposed or enacted more than 250 regulations amounting to more than $24 billion dollars in regulatory costs. And again, that’s just since January.

That’s $24 billion dollars needed by small businesses across the country to hire new employees and to grow their businesses – it should not be funneled out of the economy or your communities and re-routed back to Washington to the government.

Washington is simply out of touch with the folks on Main Street trying to do their share to boost our economy.

They hear us talk about job creation all the time, but they also bear witness to the constant contradictions. If everyone is serious about job creation, in addition to reducing the debt, let’s reduce burdensome regulations that serve no purpose other than to insert more government into the lives of citizens.

Why were small businesses, which had nothing to do with our current financial troubles, roped in as a part of the cause in last year's financial regulatory reform? Why are they being targeted for a tax hike as a purported solution to deficit problems?

It is time to change the culture in Washington. We can't tie up small businesses in needless red tape and regulations and then expect them to create jobs and boost the economy. The federal government can't create jobs; we must help shape an economic environment conducive to job creation.

It's our task to unshackle job creators from regulations and mandates, to enable them to grow, to flourish.

My Republican colleagues and I will continue to push for a scaled back government that allows the enterprising American spirit to create a prosperous economy that benefits everyone. That means reining in spending, reducing the deficit, eliminating red tape that holds businesses back.

It is clearly time for government to get out of the way. Our small businesses will respond with innovation and job creation. This is Mike Johanns of Nebraska. Thank you for your time and I hope you and your family enjoy a very blessed Easter.