The economy of our district, like that of the country, has been moving in the wrong direction for a while now. We have lost jobs, industry, farms, and opportunities. That does not have to be our future.
Economic Expansion:
Our legislature has worked to build our economy by providing Job Development Incentive Grants (J-DIG) and One North Carolina grants to help companies expand and improve in North Carolina. We need to award more technological innovation by expanding and extending the J-DIG and One North Carolina Programs.
While the practice of pursuing outside industry has managed to bring some great new employers to the district, it is not enough to sustain economic growth; we need to place more emphasis on expanding our existing local businesses that already provide quality jobs in our community - businesses that won't leave us for "greener pastures". These local businesses deserve priority because they are our most important assets.
One of my first priorities as your Representative will be to see how we can use these incentive programs to, not only bring in new large employers, but help grow and sustain our local businesses. Large corporations in North Carolina are able to take advantage of many incentives and complicated tax structures that lower their taxes to well below 6.9 percent; small local businesses do not have this luxury and cutting taxes for small businesses below 6 percent is a good start. We must also support initiatives that provide Small Business Health Plans and cut redtape for small businesses by streamlining the regulatory process. Local businesses are the heart and soul of this district and should not be forgotten in the rush to help create job growth.
Transportation:
In looking to the future as our population continues to grow, we will need to make necessary changes in order to meet the rising demand. This will include stopping the raid on the Highway Trust Fund and placing more emphasis on turnpikes and public transportation. Changes in our transportation infrastructure with the future in mind will help our citizens go about their daily lives. As Senator David Hoyle pushes to build the Garden Parkway, I will be his ally in the House to also ensure that the 321 Bypass makes it way through our district. Improving and widening Highway 279 and pushing for the new Highway 74 need to be priorities of our Representative if they are ever going to be a priority in Raleigh.
High Gas Prices
We don't need more empty promises and short-sighted cosmetic changes from politicians in Raleigh. We need real solutions - solutions that cultivate jobs in this district. Our citizens would not suffer so much from the rise in gasoline prices if they did not have to drive 40 miles to get to work everyday.
Creating new, local jobs involves more than bringing in and/or growing existing companies, it means training and educating a workforce that can sustain new and growing industry. Using our booming Community College System to provide workforce development training to workers is a top priority. The better prepared the workforce, the more likely local industry will flourish, giving us an alternative to a long commute.
But we must also look for new ways to use our existing resources and our God-given ingenuity in solving our energy problem; we have the opportunity to use our local natural resources to our advantage by becoming the center of the new Energy Economy. Farmland in the area that is lying dormant can be moved into service through new alternative energy programs to grow dedicated-energy crops, such as switchgrass. North Carolina can be a leader in this New Economy that is reliant upon local biofuels instead of foreign oil.
