"We are still very much a nation of capitalists. But we are a nation that is increasingly reining in our capitalist instincts with regulations that make it difficult to open a business and make a profit, and with taxation that reduces the rewards for risk-taking. And it is not only bureaucrats and liberals who are confining the population’s wealth-creating instincts. Lawyers do as well, and so do environmentalists, who together have learned how to game the legal system so that new technologies and new businesses are tied up in court for years. Frivolous lawsuits are a constant expense to American businesses thanks to the 'American rule,' whereby each side in a court case pays its own expenses regardless of outcome. That is an open invitation, frequently accepted, to legal extortion. We are the only country in the common-law world that uses the American rule."

You are probably noticing a theme developing.  John Steele Gordon writes at Commentary about a growth agenda.  It isn't just about taxes or spending or stimulus or regulation.  It isn't just about Democrats or Republicans of the Tea Party.  It is about interference and the unintended consequences of that interference.  Even the best of ideas codified create a structure around which interests coalesce and begin to act in ways they would have never acted had that structure not been in place.  Take the tax code:

"The greatest periods of American economic growth came when taxes were very low—such as in the 19th century—or being lowered and simplified, as in the 1920s, 60s, and 80s. Inescapably, to tax wealth creation is to discourage it. But there is a large and politically potent segment of the population that, because its interests are now aligned with those of the government, seek to promote dependency through entitlements. This segment favors ever higher taxes (although they disguise the fact by demanding that only 'the rich' pay their 'fair share.') But, as with regulation, high taxes inevitably produce low growth—and low growth threatens entitlements in the long term. If the United States remains in the doldrums for several more years without hope of a real turnaround, Medicare as it is currently constituted will go bankrupt in 2019. Raising taxes to prevent that will only slow overall growth, and that will actually defeat the purpose of saving Medicare."

A friend recently found herself interacting with the welfare system on behalf of a relative.  She was shocked by the culture.  "Shoes and phones," she explained to me, "are the important possessions of those in the system.  They have very nice shoes and phones much better than mine, and I am working. . .their kids run around the office while they talk on their phones and wait their turn for their benefits."

That is not a growth agenda that awards wealth creation.  Take some time and read the article.