Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, the man who is two seats away from being president of the United States, spoke about jobs, small business and unemployment at U. Cincinnati Monday.

One of Boehner’s prominent assertions during his address was that government regulation strangles the free market system.

“I went to Washington as a small business person thinking government was becoming the problem,” Boehner said. “And having been in Washington for 20 years, I can tell you that government is the problem,” Boehner said.

Rep. Boehner reiterated that government regulations are costly, stifling and unattractive to small private businesses and contribute to slow development in the private sector.

“Increased regulatory costs, the level of taxation and the fact that the cost per employee in America is raising at a faster rate than their profits,” were some of the reasons given by entrepreneurs for exporting jobs to other countries, according to Rep. Boehner.

Boehner expressed agreement with President Barack Obama in that “everyone should pay their fair share” regarding tax breaks and being extended to smaller private companies rather than taxing wealthier Americans more as implied by President Obama. He commented that billionaires could donate to the government if they feel. The statement was received with light chuckles.

Boehner stated that more than $2 trillion in U.S. corporate profits are lost to foreign taxation and suggested simplifying tax codes as means of incentives for U.S. employers to bring jobs back stateside.

“Those profits are not coming back here … If we want jobs in America why wouldn’t we provide some special assistance that encourages those corporate profits back to the United States,” Boehner said.

He also suggested that Congress should become more involved with tax reforms.

“We also believe that Congress should have a more active role in approving rules and regulations as they come out of agencies,” Boehner said. “If there is a significant rule change that has an impact on our economy of at least $100 million or more [it should be voted on by Congress].”

Contrary to Obama’s recently proposed American Jobs Act, Boehner said, “we need to deal with excessive government spending and we have a tax code that the American people believe is fair and actually understand,” rather than spending $447 billion to create infrastructure jobs and payroll tax cuts for employers.

The meeting did not ignore the much-publicized visit from Obama to the Brent Spence Bridge later this week with the issue of unemployment taking center stage as term elections near.

“I do believe that our country has big infrastructure needs,” Boehner said. “But why wouldn’t we tie that with additional exploration for oil and natural gas.”

Ohio has a 9.1 percent unemployment rate as of August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national average sits at 8.9 percent, not including those who are no longer pursuing employment or have not filed for unemployment, which pushes estimates into the double digits.

“At a time that spending is out of control, giving the federal government more money, would be like giving a cocaine addict more cocaine,” Boehner said.