JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!
The creation of jobs has to be, and will be, my number one priority. It has always been my position that it is the government’s job to create and maintain an atmosphere in which businesses can prosper and people can find and keep good paying jobs. Unfortunately, the government has created an environment that punishes business with high taxes and over regulation. This has resulted in an exodus of businesses from the U.S. to other countries where they are not regulated or over taxed. (A note to the environmentalists: You chased these companies from here with regulations so strict they cannot be met and now they are overseas where there are no EPA regulations, and they are pumping out all kinds of pollution with no limits. Do you think you acted in the best interests of our planet? I don’t think so; better some limits on pollution than none at all. You have to practice common sense and reasonableness.)
Right now we have a wonderful opportunity to bring a lot of those manufacturing jobs back to the United States. The dollar is extremely low in comparison to other currencies. This means that it is cheaper to produce goods here and sell them overseas than it is to produce them overseas and sell them here. Now is when we need to reduce the corporate tax rate to 5% and roll back the over regulation so businesses can make a profit here. We also have to guarantee that the taxes and regulations will not change with the next election. So we guarantee these changes will remain the same until at least 2020. Bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. will create a lot of “spin off” jobs and will also bring back a large number of service industry jobs.
As your representative, I would assign a team to create a database of all of the businesses in this district and the products they produce or the services they provide. We would then use this information to market these products/services to other U.S. businesses that are currently buying the same or similar products/services from overseas businesses. I know that good old American know-how can overcome the difference in labor costs between here and overseas. We can keep people working here in this district and create a lot of new jobs without spending ANY of your taxpayer money! Some companies may need guaranteed loans to expand or update their equipment to make them competitive with the overseas businesses, but that doesn't cost the taxpayers any money.
We would do the same thing with empty warehouse and manufacturing space. We would post this database so that expanding or moving companies can see what is available here in the entire district. The easier it is for them to find a facility, the more likely they will move here.
Another incentive for companies to move here would be cheap(er) electric rates. We have a wonderful natural resource in the Ohio River that is being terribly under-utilized. Fewer than half of the locks in our district have been adapted for hydro-electric power. Not only is this the cleanest source of electricity, it is also the cheapest! I will push for changes in regulations that simplify getting a permit to convert an existing dam into a hydro-electric dam. Making this easier and cheaper and getting public support behind it will make adapting these dams to produce hydro-electric power happen. This will provide jobs during the conversion process and jobs to operate the facilities. Having a constant source of cheap electric will be a good recruiting tool that I will use to bring businesses to our district.
I will also push for the loan guarantee that the coal to liquid fuel plant near East Liverpool needs in order to be built. Not only will this provide a large number of construction jobs, but it will also result in several hundred permanent jobs. It will also increase the number of jobs in our coal mining industry. It is inexcusable to me that Charlie Wilson has done nothing about this.
Another area where there is a great opportunity for job creation is in the oil industry. The U.S. government needs to open all the oil fields for responsible exploration and drilling. We need to promote cooperation between the environmentalists and the oil industry so they are not fighting one another, but helping one another. The oil industry does not benefit from over supply of oil so the government will have to give them an incentive to drill additional wells and pump more oil. These incentives would NOT include tax credits. I do not believe we should pay industry to do things that will benefit them in the long run. Instead, I propose no taxes or royalties on a new well for one calendar year of production PROVIDED they do not close another existing well in the U.S. They must also use American citizens and American-made materials to drill and distribute/ship the oil. The purpose here is threefold: 1) to put Americans back to work; 2) to reduce our dependency on foreign oil; 3) to bring gas, diesel, and home heating fuel prices down to between $1.50 and $2.00 a gallon. Again, this wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime.
If you want a congressman who has vision and will work hard to see industry and jobs brought to this district, then you need to support me in this endeavor. Not only do I need your vote, but I also need your financial support. Please consider making a donation and shouldering some responsibility for bringing jobs to our district and the rest of our country. Thank you!