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ECONOMIC RECOVERY DEPENDS ON JOB GROWTH
2009-03-04
Posted: Jan. 5, 2010
Our economic recovery is tied to jobs, helping people make a living,
thus increasing state tax revenue so we are able to continue funding the
essential State services for our citizens.
Only 5 percent of employers surveyed plan for worker reductions by the
end of the year, a big improvement over previous surveys.
There is one caveat to consider regarding unemployment figures: If a
person ceases to seek employment, they are not considered
“unemployed” and do not count toward the unemployment rate,
resulting in skewed percentages. DEED estimates that by the time
Minnesota employers start adding new jobs – probably early in 2010 –
Minnesota will have lost 140,000 jobs since the beginning of the
recession.
The 2010 legislative session should be all about creating jobs in
Minnesota and I was disappointed the legislative minority’s
“Emergency Jobs Stimulus Bill” was ignored last session. The
“jobs” bill which did pass the House in 2009 lacked focus and
included a provision to forgive $32.75 million of a loan to St. Paul
took to build the Xcel Energy Center. It is hard to comprehend that we
are scraping pennies together to create jobs or adequately fund our
schools and veterans programs, yet some legislators wanted to give St.
Paul a pass on repaying such a large loan.
Legislators likely will propose a large bonding bill during the 2010
session, arguing that it will stimulate short-term job growth through
public projects. Unfortunately, bonding bills normally do not have an
immediate impact on jobs because of the lag time in getting projects
underway. A bonding bill may help address infrastructure needs, but
likely would not provide a quick boost to employment.
The best thing the Legislature could do is to make our business tax
climate more pro-business and pro-jobs. Small-business owners face
substantial economic challenges today and I will continue working to
support the free market, helping to create new jobs by bringing a warmer
business climate to Minnesota through regulatory reforms, tax savings
and pro-jobs initiatives.
Ronald Reagan said you get more of what you subsidize and less of what
you tax. We have lost Minnesota jobs, Minnesota products, Minnesota
exports, and paychecks to support Minnesota families because all but a
handful of states have a better business tax climate than our state.
It is good a bipartisan task force has formed with the goal of creating
a jobs plan that can be passed in the next legislative session. I am
interested in their efforts as group begins meeting this month.
The task force is disproportionately comprised of 28 Democrats and just
eight Republicans. That group of 36 is larger than the state senate in
23 states, giving it the potential to be cumbersome and inefficient.
Furthermore, the Minnesota House already has committees dedicated to
economic development, bonding, and taxes.
If these committees were doing their jobs, this task force would not be
necessary.
March 2009
We are facing some big decisions this legislative session and your input on a variety of topics would be very helpful.
The
DFL has held listening sessions around the state in regional centers
and in the Metro area; I have attended two of them. Now, Senator Dille
and I would like to hear from the people in our own district. That is
why we are hosting a series of town hall meetings and I am distributing
a legislative survey throughout District 18A.
The surveys will
be inserted into the Hutchinson Leader Shopper March 1. You also may
log on to www.house/mn.18A if you prefer completing the survey online.
As for the town hall meetings, I have four of them scheduled in a joint effort with Sen. Steve Dille. Here is the schedule:
Friday, March 6
8 a.m., Dassel City Hall (460 Third St.)
1 p.m., Winsted City Hall (201 First St. N.)
4 p.m., Glencoe Public Library - Community Meeting Room (719 13th St. E.)
Tuesday, March 17
6 p.m., Ridgewater College student commons (2 Century Ave. S.E., Hutchinson)
I
also have some good news to pass along from a committee meeting on
Thursday: A bill I authored to aid the McLeod West school district’s
consolidation plan received unanimous support. The bill will ease the
transition as McLeod West consolidates with three neighboring districts
(Glencoe-Silver Lake, Gibbon-Winthrop-Fairfax, and Buffalo Lake-Hector).
This
is a time-sensitive matter and the committee chair made a point of
expressing the urgency to other members. Superintendents Boyer and
Sonju provided great testimony to support the bill and now it is one
step closer to passing the House.
I will update you as this bill (HF1040) progresses.
Until next time,
Ron
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