In television ads and web sites, with promises and slogans, they want Florida voters to know that creating jobs is the No. 1 issue in the Nov. 2 gubernatorial election.
But while the dueling CEOs-turned-politicians agree that Florida needs to revamp economic incentives, provide tax breaks, and streamline regulations, they fundamentally disagree on how to do it.
Sink, the former head of Bank of America's Florida operation, spent 25 years in the banking industry before she was elected Florida's chief financial officer in 2006. Her ``Business Plan to Revitalize Our Economy and Put Floridians Back to Work'' proposes to diversify the economy, nurture small businesses and provide access to investment capital.
She proposes no tax increases and pays for the plan through unspecified spending cuts and a reliance on rising tax revenues from an improved economy.
``Economic growth doesn't come from government -- it comes from business,'' states the plan Sink released in March, a month before Scott entered the race. ``But good government must help the private sector drive growth. It must create a climate of confidence by getting our own financial house in order and holding the state's politicians accountable for the economic development we create and the direction we're headed.''
Scott, the former CEO of Columbia/HCA, the for-profit hospital chain, wants to stimulate the economy with a seven-point plan built around cutting government. Called ``7-7-7'' (referring to seven steps to create 700,000 jobs over seven years) his plan proposes reducing unemployment benefits, restricting lawsuits, eliminating expensive regulations and cutting billions in state spending.
If enacted, his plan promises that ``total job growth in Florida will accelerate, the number of new business start-ups will increase, wages and salaries will grow, and the productivity and vitality of Florida's economy will soar.''
His plan also includes no tax increases, relies on tax and spending cuts to stimulate job growth -- and pays for it with rising tax revenues spawned by an improved economy.
``Regulatory reform, coupled with budget reductions will see job generation start -- which means more taxes coming into the state,'' said Donna Arduin, Scott's chief economic advisor who was budget chief for former Gov. Jeb Bush.
All these claims come against a backdrop of the worst economy in recent Florida history. The state's unemployment rate is hovering around 11.5 percent, tax revenues are in tatters from the oil-scarred beaches of the Panhandle to the collapsed real estate markets of South Florida, and the state faces a $6 billion budget deficit that must be closed by next year.
Dominic Calabro, president of Florida TaxWatch the non-profit, business-backed tax watchdog group, says there's a lot for voters to like in Scott and Sink's plans. Both of them bring the ``street smarts'' of an executive who has met a payroll, he said.
But, Calabro added that voters could use more details. ``They're a good start but you need to get more specific.''
Although Scott pledges to create 700,000 jobs in seven years, he admits the number is rounded up from his estimate of 662,000. That's lower than that of the state's economists who project the anticipated economic recovery would create 775,000 new jobs within the next four years and one million in seven years, regardless of who is elected governor -- prompting even Sink to agree that Scott's projections are possible.
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