I work every day to bring good jobs to Georgia. That goal tops my priority list, and all state government endeavors fall under the umbrella of making Georgia a great place to live and work.
Pardon me if you’ve heard me say this before, but it’s my aim to make Georgia the No. 1 place in the nation in which to do business. A pro-business environment is a prerequisite for a pro-jobs environment. We’ve seen significant progress. NBC ranks our state No. 1 in workforce development. Area Development Magazine ranks us the No. 2 best place to do business. The Tax Institute reports that Georgians bear the lowest per capita tax burden in the nation.
These positive indicators don’t happen by accident. They require hard work, vision and a keen eye on our competitors.
That’s why in 2011, I launched the Competitiveness Initiative in coordination with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
The Competitiveness Initiative brought together business and community leaders from every corner of this state and held a series of regional meetings throughout that year.
The meetings were brainstorming sessions that led to concrete policy proposals. Some suggestions, such as removing the tax on energy used in manufacturing, found their way into the 2012 tax reform legislation that I signed into law. Caterpillar and Engineered Floors cited that tax cut as one reason they built new plants near Athens and Dalton, respectively, creating more than 3,800 jobs.
The Competitiveness Initiative also played a role in reviewing the scores of tax credits in our code to consolidate and modernize our system, which had become an outdated patchwork of exemptions through the years.
These efforts have proved so productive, I decided to ask members to continue to vet new proposals for adding or removing tax credits for particular industries.
The group doesn’t make policy; it makes recommendations that policymakers can accept, alter or reject. When a state is looking for ways to create new jobs and generate wealth, it makes sense to get feedback from business leaders who know firsthand what companies look for.
Beyond the nuts and bolts of improving our business climate, I see the Competitiveness Initiative as a catalyst for positive change in Georgia. Speaking to the group earlier this month, I challenged members to work with me as we continue to implement cost-saving and lifesaving reforms in our criminal justice system.
The next step will focus on helping former inmates get the job skills they will need to stay employed and out of trouble. Once we put the proper programs in place to give them training, we’ll need partners in the private sector willing to give them a second chance at life.
That program symbolizes what the Competitiveness Initiative is all about: Making sure that every Georgian who has the will to work, gets the chance to work.
Nathan Deal is the governor of Georgia.
