Creigh Deeds, Bob McDonnell both vow to bring jobs
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-10-19 16:06:53 | Word Count: 592
Job creation is an area where one starts hearing an echo during the Virginia gubernatorial debate. Both Democratic state Sen. Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell describe themselves as the state’s premier promoter of jobs, repeating the magic words for any business community: tax breaks.
Creigh Deeds
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Deeds said he will award a tax break to every job created by a small business that would, in effect, refund to those businesses any rise in their federal payroll taxes from higher head counts or wages. He’d also offer a state tax credit of up to 30 percent for every dollar, up to $250,000, that a business spends on hiring new workers or upgrading its facilities.
With an eye on energy companies, he said he would expand the state’s solar manufacturing grant program to all green industry-related companies, offering them a chance at state dollars if they invest $50 million or hire 200 people in Virginia.
In terms of job training, he would open a $10 million pot for training grants, while boosting the maximum grant amount for college students by a third, or $1,000 a year, if they are pursuing a degree in science, technology, engineering or math at a four-year, state-funded university. Those graduates could get their student loans forgiven for two years if they work in the state for six years.
For those still unemployed despite his best efforts, Deeds said he would launch an emergency revolving loan fund to pay for health insurance for residents temporarily without work, and a program to allow them to buy into state children’s and Medicaid health plans if those add up to better affordability.
Bob McDonnell
Although McDonnell has tagged himself the jobs candidate, Deeds argues the Republican never sponsored any legislation that has created jobs. In response, McDonnell has fired back with welfare reform bills he pushed as a state delegate from Virginia Beach and his high rating from the National Federation of Independent Business.
His agenda pushes for fast tracking business permits and digitizing the application process. He also proposes to reduce the employment requirements for $1,000 tax credits to reward businesses that create 50 new jobs — 25 in economically distressed parts of the state. He backs annual income tax credits of $500 per new green job for qualified energy-related businesses for up to five years.
McDonnell said he would also pump up the job description of his lieutenant governor to include the role of job-creation czar so that person could “coordinate economic development and job creation initiatives across the various agencies of state government.” In addition to overseeing those individual agency jobs efforts, the lieutenant governor would work with the state’s commerce and trade secretary to evaluate their current list of jobs-related grants and incentives.
“Investment in higher education, work force, research and development is imperative,” said Tony Howard, CEO of the 1,200-member Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. “Both candidates are saying good things about that.”
