Issue Position: Economy

Issue Position

Improving the economy has two parts: creating a fair tax/incentive structure for all and building a trained, capable workforce.

Tax Structure

Alabama has had a strong bi-partisan effort to attract major industries to the state. As a result, Alabama has competed successfully against neighboring states to acquire desirable industries by offering generous incentive packages. Now it is time to balance incentives among companies of all sizes. Like magnets, large industries attract small businesses to supply and service large companies and their employees. Small businesses need incentives to locate and stay in North Shelby County. It's like a complicated puzzle--all parts must fit in just the right place to form the whole picture. We must look at incentives and taxes on industry and business as part of the whole tax structure in the state.

I propose that the legislature work with the incoming Governor to create a bi-partisan panel that includes experts in economics, business, and public administration to recommend a fair tax system in conjunction with balanced incentives for growing the economy. Perhaps the recommendation will be similar to Governor Riley's "Amendment 1." We need to end our regressive tax structure. Two critical changes that can jumpstart economic recovery are:

* taking the tax off groceries; and
* phasing out ad valorem taxes on struggling small businesses.

Building a trained, capable workforce:

Alabama industry giants are aerospace, biotechnology, automotive, and forestry. Over 90 biotechnology companies are either headquartered in Alabama or do business in Alabama. The aerospace industry has over 330 large and small companies in the state, many clustered around Huntsville's space and defense industries. Aviation-related companies cluster around Montgomery and southeast Alabama; and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) businesses are located primarily in the Dothan area. Prior to Mercedes-Benz plant coming to Alabama, no vehicles were produced in the state. By 2006, two million automobiles and light trucks had been produced, which places Alabama in the top six in the U.S for the category. Our forestry industry has 23 million acres in commercial timberland and 85 active forest products manufacturing operations in the state.

So, why is it that many of these industries have to bring workers from other states and countries to work in these skilled labor jobs? It goes back to education: almost 1/2 of our adults ages 25 to 54 (prime working years) have a high school diploma or less..about 1/2 million people do not have a high school diploma or a GED. Only 32% are enrolled in postsecondary education, many of whom do not graduate.

In 1971, the state legislature created a line item in the state budget for the community college system to train workers for industrial jobs through the Alabama Industrial Development Training program (AIDT). To attract industry, training dollars were made part of incentive packages, and those dollars are attached to employers. Potential workers can take the training designed for a specific job at participating company. Following successful completion of the course, the company may offer a job to the graduate, but a job is not guaranteed. AIDT has high marks and it has trained 200,000 workers over the years, according to its website. However, AIDT does not reach the 1/2 million people without a high school diploma or GED. Moreover, since employment is not guaranteed, Alabamians compete with people from out-of-state for jobs. These two factors explain why out of state workers are hired to work in Alabama.

Nonprofit organizations have identified several policy issues that the legislature needs to address to fill this glaring gap. When elected, I intend to bring these identified gaps to the forefront of deliberations. We will build upon the strengths of our economic development plan and integrate aspects that must be included in order to benefit Alabamians.

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