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Bobby Harrell: Three ways to boost S.C. jobs, incomes

Three ways to boost S.C. jobs, incomes

By BOBBY HARRELL

Guest columnist
Original at The State

There has been a lot of focus lately on Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade South Carolina’s bond rating from the highest AAA level to AA+. S&P cited the state’s sluggish growth and higher-than-average unemployment rates as reasons.

On the other hand, Fitch recently announced it was continuing our AAA credit rating. In addition, Moody’s Investors Service reaffirmed our AAA rating, but gave us a “negative outlook.” While Moody praised our state’s conservative debt and fiscal management, it also cautioned the state about economic weaknesses and employment declines.

These reports should serve as a wake-up call. Both S&P and Moody highlight the fact that the state’s unemployment rate has dipped from third-best in the nation to fifth-worst. It’s time to intensify our economic development and job-creation efforts.

In order to regain and maintain our AAA ratings, we must reprioritize and refocus on economic development.

The General Assembly is committed to working with our state’s stakeholders to stimulate economic growth, collaborating with the governor and private-sector leaders. We must develop a strategic approach to stimulate job creation and raise income levels. We can only accomplish these goals by working together.

There is a three-pronged solution to this challenge. The first step is continuing to aggressively recruit companies to South Carolina. But not just any company — companies that open up high-paying job opportunities for our citizens. The second step is identifying and implementing ways to help large and small South Carolina companies not only survive, but also thrive. The new and better-paying jobs that we need in our state will come from thriving companies. Finally, we must take a page out of North Carolina’s history books and transform our research universities into economic engines. North Carolina has seen great success since it formed the Research Triangle 40 years ago; We can do the same.

True and lasting change starts with an in-depth look at the Department of Commerce’s toolbox. We need to give this agency the tools and resources it needs to succeed — just as other successful states have done. We also need to fully support the various economic development groups throughout the state.

In 2004, the hardworking Commerce Department staff doubled the amount of capital investment it attracted to our state in the previous year. But we need to build on that momentum — and that means examining Commerce’s toolbox to make sure it has every competitive tool it needs.

Everyone knows that the availability of a highly skilled workforce is a key to recruiting today’s companies. That’s why we need to redouble our efforts to build a first-rate educational system in our state. We must start at the elementary level and take measured steps to improve programming through high school. And we must strengthen our world-class workforce development programs available through our technical college system.

But that’s still not enough. We must also implement ways to help existing South Carolina businesses of all sizes succeed. As President Bush recently pointed out at the National Small Business Week Conference in April, small businesses create two-thirds of new private-sector jobs in America, employ more than half of all workers and account for more than half the output of the U.S. economy. South Carolina must continue to support small businesses.

The General Assembly is working hard toward these goals. It has built a solid track record of enacting legislation to support the business community and companies of all sizes. Legislation passed in the 2005 session reveals significant changes that will make our state more business friendly, including the Jobs Creation Act, the Small Business Income Tax Reduction Act, the Innovation and Research Centers Act and comprehensive tort reform.

Of course, the General Assembly’s work is far from over. We must continue to proactively introduce and pass legislation that helps South Carolina companies experience both short-term and long-term growth. We must make every effort to keep our finger on the pulse of South Carolina’s business community to determine what it needs to take businesses to the next level.

Finally, we must position our research universities as economic engines. It is clear that our state’s economy is in transition. We’ve seen substantial declines in economic staples such as agriculture and textiles during the past few years. We can’t merely accept the losses; rather, we must fully utilize our universities so that we become a more viable player in a changing world economy. The South Carolina Innovation and Research Centers Act and the Venture Capital Investment Act, both of which were passed in the 2005 session, were implemented to help us realize a knowledge-based economy.

Looking for someone to blame is not going to help the state improve its rating. At the end of the day, the road to higher employment rates and higher wages is dependent upon the cooperation of government and business leaders who have a unified vision for a knowledge-based economy.

We must confront the state’s growth challenge head-on. I am confident that together we can design a road map that will take us from where we are now to where we need to go — to a higher quality of life for our citizens.

Mr. Harrell is the speaker of the S.C. House.