Build confidence and restore jobs.
That, in its most simplistic form, is the overarching message the Connecticut Business & Industry Association is hoping the state lawmakers will take up as their mantra for the new legislative session.
“State policymakers can accomplish a great deal this year by giving employers the confidence to invest and create more jobs here. Restoring trust in Connecticut as a good place in which to do business is essential to the achievement of the state”™s economic recovery.”
The CBIA sets the tone in its opening statement of its 2010 Government Affairs Program one step further, when it states in no uncertain terms:
“A big part of restoring that trust is restraining state government from trying to compete with Connecticut businesses or micromanage them. Expanding state government into private-sector markets or over-regulating businesses only discourages real economic growth.”
We all know what happens when too many cooks are involved. And we have witnessed it here in Connecticut as mandates have imposed more costs on doing business.
Â
In promoting a fair tax policy, the CBIA suggests encouraging business investment by getting rid of the 70 percent cap on corporate income and premium tax credits as well as creating tax-exempt investment savings accounts so as to spur manufacturers to reinvest in their Connecticut facilities.
Â
Also, government heal thyself before passing heavy-handed laws, fees or taxes onto the backs of businesses.
Do as businesses have been doing in this recession: run lean and streamline.
Gov. Jodi Rell has herself said in the past months that the state government needs to do what businesses and families have been doing ”“ watching their budgets, especially their expenditures, more closely.
The CBIA also points out that the state needs not only to just keep an eye on its infrastructure, but to improve upon it; I-95 and aging electric lines immediately spring to mind. The business group recommends the state prioritize federal transportation funds with an emphasis on “economy-boosting” projects.
The recommendations put forth by the CBIA have great merit.
We hope state lawmakers feel the same way and act on them or at the very least address the issues raised.
Building a consensus among lawmakers will be key to moving this agenda forward.
We must remember that more than 80,000 jobs were lost in the state. Restoring them will go hand-in-hand in restoring the state”™s economy and the needed confidence to attract more businesses.
The members of the General Assembly need to keep in mind that the 80,000 figure represents people ”“ living, breathing, trying to make a living human beings. Putting not just a face on the issue, but 80,000 faces, should help the lawmakers get past partisan politics and act as a unified force in rebuilding the state”™s economy.
For more on CBIA”™s 2010 Government Affairs Program, go to www.cbia.com.
