Fostering Private Sector Job Creation
April 21, 2010

Hi, I’m Gene Barr, vice president of the Pennsylvania Chamber. Welcome to this month’s Pennsylvania Chamber Minute.  

As Pennsylvania readies for another difficult state budget debate, private-sector job creation hangs in the balance.

While it’s true that some regions are on the road to recovery, we still have a long way to go.

Since February 2009, Pennsylvania has lost 141,000 jobs. In February of this year alone, Pennsylvania lost another 16,000, the third-largest monthly decrease in the nation.  

To their credit, many lawmakers are aware that boosting job creation is a top priority. The business community’s concern, however, is that some policymakers and their supporters fail to recognize that a healthy private sector – not more government programs and spending – is the key to long-lasting job growth.

Organized labor and anti-business groups continue to push for Pennsylvania’s big government to grow even bigger – all on the backs of families, individuals and business taxpayers. For example, a group of state senators recently announced a well-intentioned, but misguided plan to increase taxes to fund a two-year, government-subsidized jobs program.

Beyond that, during these tough economic times, other so-called solutions include harmful tax reporting requirements, an expanded sales tax and changes to the Personal Income Tax that will take more money away from every hard-working Pennsylvanian and job creators.

It’s not just higher taxes and spending. There is no end in sight at the state and federal level to proposed policies that would place more government mandates and cost pressures on employers, hindering their ability to efficiently operate and create jobs.

PA Chamber members do not diminish the incredible fiscal challenges facing the state. Pennsylvania’s revenue deficit now stands at more than $700 million and could reach $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year; federal stimulus dollars will soon run out; the UC Trust Fund is broke; and a staggering $4 billion public pension bill looms.

But whatever we do, we cannot harm our only chance for economic security: a healthy, vibrant private sector and the free market opportunities that drive success.
The more that lawmakers reject the tenets of free enterprise, the more fleeting recovery will be.

The steps policymakers take in the months ahead will determine our ability to move forward as a Commonwealth and nation. With your help, the PA Chamber will do what it takes to steer them in the right direction.  Over the next several weeks, be sure to contact your elected officials and let them know now is not the time for higher taxes and bigger government.

Thank you for your support and for spending a minute of your time with the Pennsylvania Chamber…The statewide voice of business.