Election 2010
October 20, 2010

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

A few weeks ago at an event in Philadelphia, an attendee approached me to talk about Pennsylvania’s business climate.  He told me that he had started three new businesses in the last 18 months. This is an exceptional undertaking in any economy, but particularly now with the very real challenges faced by businesses of all sizes.  What’s more amazing, is that this business owner is a 20-year-old college student.

It is exactly this kind of entrepreneurial spirit that must be encouraged and nurtured in order to return Pennsylvania and the nation to a path of fiscal stability and economic prosperity.

The last eight years of the Rendell administration have brought unbalanced, and at times unnecessary, environmental regulation; little action on commonsense legal reform; the constant targeting of employers for new revenue to support uncontrolled state spending; and an overall tax, spend and mandate approach to governing at the expense of free enterprise.

In Washington, D.C., these same misguided policy decisions have crippled the pace of private-sector job creation – a barometer that is the true measure of economic recovery.

As the November election approaches, the stakes rarely have been higher for our economy, and it’s never been more vital for voters to be fully informed about how a candidate’s positions on the issues will impact economic growth and job creation.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Campaign for Free Enterprise has developed a list of five questions that all voters should ask of those seeking state and federal office:

• Do they believe the free enterprise system is threatened?


• Do they believe tax increases will hurt job creation?


• Do they think that the growth of government at all levels and the deficits that follow have negatively impacted job creation?


• Would they deal with the debt and deficit issues through increasing government revenue or decreasing government spending?


• Do they believe that the uncertainty resulting from pending tax increases, higher government deficits and more government regulations will hurt the economy?

There are also a number of websites, www.voteforbusiness.com and www.prosperitypennsylvania.org, that  will provide you with the information you need to make decisions on the best candidates to lead the Commonwealth and the nation in a more prosperous direction.

Be sure to find out about the candidates’ positions, and then have you’re your voice heard on November 2nd. And encourage your friends, family, employees and coworkers to do the same.

And thank you for spending a minute of your time with the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry…the Statewide Voice of Business.