Issue: Economy
The economic news across the country has not been encouraging. We are seeing a continued shift of jobs overseas. We are seeing a major bailout of Wall Street. We are seeing an auto industry on the verge of bankruptcy. All of this impacts each and every one of us here in Virginia.We cannot continue to mortgage our future by throwing money at problems without having real solutions. We cannot help one group while at the same time hurting another group, like small business owners who are the biggest employers in the country. We need a solution that provides a livable wage offset by tax breaks for small businesses taking on this additional cost. If we don't, we all lose. We need to focus on creating an environment that encourages companies to do business here. We do that by working together. This means Republicans and Democrats, business and labor. If we don't, we will continue to lose opportunities because companies will continue to go elsewhere.
We must stop the shifting of jobs overseas. To do this we MUST cut the cost of doing business in the United States. We MUST lower healthcare costs. We MUST lower the tax rates on American manufacturers. We MUST cut down on regulatory and lawsuit costs. And, we MUST make energy costs more affordable and more reliable. If these costs are lowered, businesses will remain in the United States and will continue hiring American workers. This has to be essential to our overall plan for Virginia.
We need to focus on providing low-income families with the tools they need to get out of the cycle of poverty. Instead of providing government checks for not working, we need to provide people with a viable plan to gain meaningful, long-term employment. We need to provide avenues and opportunities for families to continue their education. We need to provide jobs at livable wages. We need to provide child care services or allowances to help cover the costs of child care for lowincome and single-parent families. These are not handouts. These are investments in the future. The sooner we break the generational cycle of poverty in families, the sooner we can begin relying less on government subsidies to help pay for our poor. We will also see tax surpluses as more people are working and earning a livable wage.
State and federal governments must work together and allow for innovation. Specifically, we need to:
- Eliminate the death tax so that entrepreneurs, family farmers, and business owners no longer have a fear of losing their life's work to the tax collector. We should not be taxed twice on our earnings and hard Eliminate the capital gains tax to encourage investing. Investing in the economy leads to more entrepreneurial behavior. This leads to prosperity, a bigger economy, and better jobs.
- Develop a tax code that favors work, savings, investment, and productivity.
- Create tax incentives that encourage research and development.
These are just some of the possibilities that OVN believes will help us put more money into your pockets and keep Virginia competitive today and in the future.
