Talboy: Republicans lost focus on job creation
When the Missouri General Assembly convened in January, there was unanimous agreement that the top priority of the 2011 legislative session would be preserving and creating jobs. With Missouri families struggling through tremendous economic hardship, it was deemed absolutely critical for lawmakers to make strategic and targeted investments to foster economic growth in our state.
With the legislative session at its symbolic midpoint, however, it appears that the Republican leaders who control the House of Representatives have forgotten about job creation. Instead they have focused on politically motivated non-problems and an anti-worker agenda that instead of creating Missouri jobs takes money and power away from working families.
The need to enact policies that transform our economy by creating jobs in cutting-edge technologies and making smart investments that will help businesses in every community succeed in a global economy has never been greater. We need to focus on helping entrepreneurs get off the ground and provide tools for small businesses to grow, which translates to additional jobs. Small businesses are critical to growing our economy and we must eliminate barriers and create incentives to foster their creation and growth.
House Democrats support a number of bills that would achieve those goals, such as the governor’s Compete Missouri plan, the Missouri Science Innovation and Reinvestment Act and providing incentives for underground data storage centers in the state. Unfortunately, those proposals remain stalled in the process.
Suppressing wages and worker protections will not create economic prosperity but instead take Missouri down the road to economic stagnation. The House must focus on legitimate efforts to create family-sustaining jobs that pay a livable wage with respectable benefits. We must champion emerging technologies that are leading the way to economic growth in our state.
Missourians are optimistic for the future, and we can capitalize on our economic recovery by investing in our future and pursuing policies that will put Missouri in a position to lead when good times return. But Republicans set the agenda in the House. It is the hope of House Democrats that during the final weeks of the 2011 legislative session, the majority party will remember its promises from January and focus on legitimate job creation. The economic security of all Missourians depends on it.
-State Rep. Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City
