Issue Position: Jobs and the Economy

Issue Position

Chuck Lavine believes that increased employment is the most important factor in determining how and where New York's economic development dollars should be invested. Our state can and will produce thousands of jobs if we reform the way we invest state economic development dollars. That is why Chuck voted in 2010 to establish the Small Business Revolving Loan fund and the Excelsior Jobs Program to provide low-interest loans to small businesses to create jobs in several sectors, including manufacturing, agriculture, and scientific research and development. Chuck was also a leader in the fight to enact Governor Cuomo's "START-UP NY" Program. Built upon a series of significant tax incentives that encourage partnerships between our universities and businesses, START-UP NY positions our state to compete with others in attracting new business ventures and capital investments.

These initiatives have created, and will continue to create, jobs and boost our economy. Because of his efforts to produce and preserve jobs in New York, Chuck has held the endorsement of the New York AFL-CIO since 2010. Chuck will continue to work with the legislature and governor's office to pursue the changes necessary to ensure that New York State grows its workforce and its economy.

Chuck also believes the New York State Legislature must pass its budgets on time. Doing so plays an essential role in creating jobs and preserving a stable, growing economy in New York. While the recovery from the recent recession will take years, Chuck believes this is no reason New York cannot prepare, pass, and enact its budget on time. Our schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and many small or mid-sized businesses rely upon the guarantee of state funding to plan for, and invest in, the future. Likewise, the economic certainty and stability that comes with on-time government budgets enable businesses, large and small, to thrive and prosper. In 2004, when Chuck and other like-minded Assembly reformers were first elected, New York State had failed to produce an on-time budget for 20 years. Understanding the consequences of this troubling trend, they fought for, and secured, timely budgets from 2005-2009. Chuck continues to fight for on-time budgets and smart state investments in New York business owners.

Source