Horner Unveils Jobs Vision with Eye on Long-Term Success

EXCELSIOR, Minn., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Independence Party candidate for governor Tom Horner unveiled his five-point jobs plan on Thursday at a meeting of the South Lake-Excelsior Chamber of Commerce.

"The status quo puts Minnesota on a path to mediocrity," said Horner. "In Minnesota, we have had a lot of big talk. We have had too little big and bold action."

Details of Horner's plan were released as state officials reported that Minnesota's unemployment rate rose to 7 percent in August, up from an adjusted 6.9 percent in July. Employers added 600 jobs in August, but most were in the business services and temp areas, state officials said.

"We need permanent jobs. We need well-paying, career jobs for the economy of the future," Horner said.

Horner emphasized that Minnesota's political system is not operating with an eye on the state's long-term future in the new economy. Even prior to the recession, as per capita income in the United States grew by 16.6 percent between 2004 and 2007, Minnesota lagged the nation.

Horner noted the thousands of private-sector Minnesota jobs lost since 2001, including 85,000 manufacturing jobs. In that same period, Horner said, Minnesota added 12,700 government jobs.

"The goal of any jobs program for Minnesota must be to increase the number of good, well-paying jobs in the private sector," Horner said.

The Minnesota Works program features five key goals: reforming Minnesota's tax system, educating Minnesotans for the new economy, investing in research and innovation, streamlining regulation, and investing in modern infrastructure.

Horner said Minnesota needs more companies like Compellent in Eden Prairie, which develops data storage systems for global markets. It is a new economy company made possible, Horner said, by its ability to attract investment capital. "Creating new jobs and new wealth in Minnesota must begin with tax policies that attract that investment capital," said Horner.

Horner said Minnesota must reform a tax system created for the old economy. "But relying only tax cuts, simply adding to a company's bottom line, aren't the same as tax reform," Horner said.

Compellent "also is a company that reflects an educated, productive work force," Horner said. Its "success is tied directly to its ability to recruit and retain" smart Minnesotans in positions ranging from engineering and administration to marketing, he added

Other highlights of the proposal include integrating Minnesota's two-year technical and community colleges into the needs of the local and regional economies, establishing a $145 million Minnesota Innovation Fund to assist start-up costs, adopting a $400 million bonding bill in 2011, and setting a six-month deadline for permit applications without extraordinary circumstances.

"We know what the solutions are," Horner said. "What is missing is leadership and political will."

WEBSITE: http://www.horner2010.com/news/campaign-news-releases/jobs-proposal/

SOURCE Horner2010