Bob Orr, candidate for the Republican nomination for governor:
Every citizen of our state feels the impact of North Carolina's economic progress, or lack thereof, each and every day. Thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost over the past decade, causing our people to face unemployment and uncertainty, particularly in North Carolina's rural communities. Instead of addressing the long-term needs of our communities, our leaders have been content to engage in what they openly admit is bad public policy. State leaders have created a system of tax credits and incentive programs which give away over a billion dollars each year to chosen businesses at the expense of public education, roads, small businesses and taxpayers.
Government doesn't create prosperity or build wealth -- people and businesses do. Through efficient operations and fair economic development policy, government can set the stage for prosperity by creating the conditions for people and businesses to thrive. I believe we will have long-term prosperity if we build an environment that makes North Carolina an unbeatable choice for outside companies looking to move or expand. In addition, if we make it easier for existing North Carolina companies to grow and make North Carolina an ideal environment for start-ups, our economy will be successful. We have spent millions trying to lure the next Google here with tax credits and payoffs. I don't want the next Google to be lured here; I want it to be born here.
Despite what some politicians would like you to believe, the answer is not for state and county governments to take your tax dollars and give them to a few giant global corporations, hoping for the outsourcing of a small part of their operation to North Carolina, creating a few hundred jobs with profits flowing out of state. That policy helps a fortunate few but hits everyone else in the wallet. It is a price we can no longer afford to pay. We can, however, implement long-term policies to make North Carolina competitive for new and expanding businesses in the industries of the future.
It's time for a new approach. It's time to focus the resources of this state on the people and businesses of this state. It's time to shift our focus away from luring global corporations to nurturing the real engine of job growth, small business. Our objective in this new approach will be to provide the opportunity for long-term job growth by creating an environment where all business can thrive. Creating this environment means building a top notch workforce and lowering the tax and regulatory burden. We must also address the problems of our state infrastructure, primarily our transportation system. Please see the Issues Section at www.orr2008.com for specific proposals on reforming public education, transportation, and taxes and regulations.
There is also another equally vital role the state can play in economic development and that is creating a culture of innovation that prepares North Carolina for the future. We hear a lot these days about the transformation our economy is undergoing. Some experts call this a dramatic transformation away from textiles, manufacturing and tobacco. This raises the key question: transitioning to what?
We cannot accurately predict what the economy of 2025 will look like, but we can see general trends and we know the competitive advantages that North Carolina enjoys. We know that we are leaders in intellectual capital (patents awarded, PhDs earned, R&D funding) but we also know that we lag in creation of new companies. We are blessed with a great climate and beautiful environment. Many talented people come to our state every year and will continue to do so. We are home to energetic, hard working people who, if given the right tools and opportunities, will rise to the challenges of global competition and build the companies of the future in high-tech and environmental technology, alternative energy, health care, health research and high-tech manufacturing.
We need leadership that will deliver the economic development policies to make North Carolina attractive to external companies, be fair for all businesses, and create opportunities for all North Carolinians. Recently I released a detailed proposal to shift approximately $20 billion by the year 2020 out of the corporate welfare of targeted incentives and into investments in our people, businesses, and education and health infrastructures. Vision 20/20, which you can read at http://www.orr2008.com/Issues/EcDev/20_20.html, is a bold and revolutionary approach -- unlike anything my opponents have offered. It's exactly what we need to move beyond talking about being competitive in the 21st-century economy and actually winning in the 21st-century economy.
