Focus on the work force, not more loopholes

by Nan Rich


My View

A generation ago, President Reagan called for "trickle down" economic policies. His attempts to vilify government to please the titans of industry marked one of the single biggest shifts of wealth in this country and the beginning of the demise of the middle class, thanks to stagnating wages, disappearing pensions and health benefits, and rising tax burdens.
 
And so it is interesting that Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos and House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon are on Friday convening a "Florida Jobs Summit" in Orlando, ostensibly to solicit new ideas to turn around the state's economy.
 
The fine print, though, suggests its real aim is a resurrection of the same old failed policies as a cure for Florida's financial woes and staggering unemployment rate.
 
The creation of jobs in Florida is critically important, but not the kind that Senator Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, and Rep. Cannon, R-Orlando, would beget under more-of-the-same trickle-down policies. And certainly not the kind created once government restrictions are removed, growth management and environmental protections are gutted, and industry regulations are lifted.
 
Florida is already one of the nation's most tax-friendly states for businesses. Doling out more tax loopholes is not going to jump-start our economy.
 
Where we lag is in the supply of a skilled work force. That's why so many unemployed Floridians are flocking to community colleges and state universities to upgrade skills or learn new trades. If we're serious about creating jobs, we might begin with restoring funding to our educational institutions that train the professionals of tomorrow.
 
Surely, the summit sponsors remember the promises two years ago that property taxes would "drop like a rock." The only thing that dropped was Floridians' access to services they now need in tough economic times.
 
And remember those pledges not to raise taxes? That's exactly what they did last year by hiking fees on everything from drivers' licenses to registration renewals. The state can't take any more broken promises.
 
So while I applaud the efforts of Republican lawmakers who say they want new solutions to our state's economic crisis, I fear from the rhetoric that they merely prefer the status quo that got us into this mess in the first place.
 
If the Florida Jobs Summit is really about innovation, we might make progress on turning our economy around, but recycling the same old ideas is simply inexcusable.
 
Albert Einstein supposedly defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It's high time Florida broke free of the asylum.
 
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20100114/OPINION05/1140309
 


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Political advertisement paid for and approved by Nan Rich, Democrat for State Senate, District 34. Website by Impact Politics