Pawlenty Outlines Jobs Plan
As he looks to cement his legacy in MN and move onto the nat'l stage, MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) unveiled a 6-part Jobs Creation Bill in his final State of the State address today.
Pawlenty's address comes during hard times for his state. As he prepares to propose his final budget on 2/15, Pawlenty faces the daunting task of closing a $1.2B shortfall without raising taxes. That could mean deeper cuts to state services or one-time fixes that potentially push tough choices to Pawlenty's successor.
Calling his state "one of the most remarkable places the world has ever known," Pawlenty spoke in an upbeat tone today but nonetheless acknowledged the hard times that have befallen his state.
"The state of our state is challenged but our spirit is resilient," he said. The South St. Paul native also highlighted the challenges in his own modest background -- his mother died when he was in high school, and his father lost his job shortly after -- to put himself in the shoes of MNans living in "uncertainty and fear because of this historically awful economy."
Pawlenty railed against gov't spending and a tax system that "is not even close to competitive," and laid out a 6-part package of tax cuts and incentives which he dubbed the Jobs Creation Bill. Among other proposals, the package includes a 20% reduction in the corporate tax rate, a 20% exclusion from taxation for small businesses, a tax credit to provide incentives for investment in early-stage companies and a capital gains exemption for qualifying investments.
"The most important question before us is this: How do we best grow good, private sector jobs in Minnesota?" Pawlenty said. "The people who can best answer that question aren't in this room. They're not in Congress. They're not in the White House. They're not in bureaucracies. In fact, they're usually not in government or politics at all. The people who best know how to create jobs are the people who have actually done it."
"If government listens to them, this is what it'll hear loud and clear: Get out of our way. Leave us alone. Make it easier, not harder. The message is clear, so let's get to work," he said.
Pawlenty also highlighted the need to reform MN's budget process. "We should spend only what we have, not what we hope to have," he said. "That's a common sense approach understood at every kitchen table in Minnesota."
Pawlenty outlined a laundry list of other initiatives, some of which sounded like the beginning of a national stump speech. He called once again for people to be able to buy health insurance across state lines and to double the sentences of sexual predators.
But he also touted his work in getting MN out of the top 10 states in taxes, slowing down state gov't spending and cutting spending for the first time in MN history, and witnessing the growth of MN's GDP by more than 25% during his tenure. But he still came back to the point: "Our first priority is good jobs."
Kicking off his final year in office, Pawlenty advised his successor to "schedule a monthly haircut to manage your mullet."
Pawlenty faces the daunting task of closing a $1.2B shortfall without raising taxes. That could mean deeper cuts to state services or one-time fixes that potentially push tough choices to Pawlenty's successor
CLEARLY, in light of the above statement, the only fiscally-responsible way forward is: TAX CUTS - TAX CUTS - TAX CUTS. /sarcasm
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