Jeb Bush on Jobs Former Republican FL Governor

State minimum wages ok, but not at federal level

With Los Angeles recently raising its minimum wage to $15 and other cities following suit, the issue is a hot topic. The current $7.25 federal minimum wage has not increased since 2009. Conservatives usually argue that raising the minimum wage will cut jobs because businesses will hire fewer people if they have to pay them more. Numerous Department of Labor studies have shown this isn't true.

Bush acknowledges that there is a growing income gap in the U.S., but thinks that the federal minimum wage won't close the gap, saying that he thinks minimum wage furthers the issue. He continued: "But the federal government doing this will make it harder and harder for the first rung of the ladder to be reached, particularly for young people, particularly for people that have less education."

Employ American Workers Act led to lost ideas & lost jobs

Job growth during Bush terms, but very low wage jobs

While there was job growth during the Bush term of office it was smaller than in any gubernatorial administration since 1978. In addition, much of the job growth was the product of a growing population rather than the tax cuts the governor generated.

Most of the jobs created during the Bush administration were in the low-paying sectors of the economy. The state's 2004 median hourly wage ($13.10 per hour) was below the national average and the state had an unusually high percentage of very low-wage workers who earned wages at or below the federal minimum wage.

Gambling is emblematic of "something for nothing" culture

Wrong. In fact, Jeb barely lifted a finger. The consequence: the pro-slots initiative passed. Jeb mobilized his people to defeat it in Miami-Dade, but could not stop it in Broward.

But why so little effort? [Jeb might say], "My brother was facing a tight race again, and I needed every Republican and independent vote I could get, including the libertarians who have no problem with gambling." And so, Florida in 2006, with a conservative Republican governor, finally got casino-style gambling that Democratic governors had successfully staved off in 1978, 1986, and 1994.

Operation Paycheck: stimulus for 33,000 construction jobs

Over the long haul, we must restore the health of the businesses we already have and we must grow new businesses that diversify and strengthen our economic base. Chief among the new industries that will transform Florida are those that create high-tech jobs, from Florida's globally-recognized strengths such as the simulation, optics, and space technology fields to emerging new sectors such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence.

More R&D & tax incentives for small farmers.

Resolved, That the Southern Governors’ Association, with respect to the 2002 farm bill, urges Congress and the Administration to:
• Create a major funding research and development block grant initiative to state departments of agriculture and other appropriate state entities which could work with universities and non-traditional research entities to spur value-added processing;
• Discourage, eliminate and prosecute “insurance farmers” under the crop insurance program and require coverage of farmers for disaster relief payments eligibility;
• Urge the U.S. Justice Department to review the implications of the consolidation of agricultural businesses with respect to the Sherman Anti-trust Act and assign a senior level Justice official to this task;
• Support programs that will sustain small farms;
• Invest in our infrastructure and transportation network to assure that agriculture and other producing and consumer interests are well served;
• Encourage new farmers to enter agriculture production with incentives and other programs such as capital gains taxes, new tax-deferred savings accounts and deferred loans;
• Discourage dual marketing systems for biotech and non-biotech products, maintain the current regulatory system on labeling of biotech foods, and pass legislation to protect against crop destruction aimed at academic research institutions and biotechnology companies

Repeal the federal unemployment "temporary surtax".

• Whereas, the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) was enacted over 60 years ago to guarantee financing for a national employment security system’s federal-state partnership; and,
• Whereas, the “temporary surtax” of 0.2%, enacted in 1976, is still being collected today despite a $24 billion surplus in the trust funds; and,
• Whereas, over the past several years, the return of taxes paid from states to fund important employment services has decreased to an average of only 51%, with some states receiving back as little as 32%, causing them to raise taxes to compensate for the unutilized federal funds; and
• Whereas, over the same period, the ability of states to fund essential unemployment insurance and employment services has suffered; and,
• Whereas, states are better equipped to collect the employer-paid tax and to provide local services to its unemployed citizens; now, therefore, be it
• Resolved, that the Southern Governors’Association calls on the United States Congress and President to pass employment security financing reform which includes repealing the FUTA surtax, increasing state flexibility and eliminating inefficiencies in FUTA tax collection while maintaining the trust funds on the unified budget.