Blog: Today We Celebrate Hard-Working Men and Women

Statement

Today we celebrate the hard-working men and women who are the backbone of our economy and our way of life. We have a proud history of being a people who tirelessly toil with our hands and with our minds to not only provide for ourselves and our families but also to produce goods and services that benefit others and our society as a whole.

This is a noble endeavor -- to work hard, produce greatness and provide for our families.

Sadly, over the past 8 years, too many people have not been able to work as they both desire and need. Our state unemployment rate is at 11.1 percent, well higher the national rate. Our job growth statewide is stagnant. And we seem too dependent on landing large corporations from out-of-state to create jobs instead of finding other innovative ways to provide our workforce with meaningful employment.

This must change, and as governor, I'll work tirelessly to see that it does.

In Hattiesburg, we've weathered the last 10 years pretty well. Despite the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the worst economic recession in recent history, we managed to create more than 6,000 jobs. To do so, we never raised taxes, we never cut services and we never furloughed employees.

We can do this for Mississippi as well, with a few basic approaches:

1. We must focus on small businesses. More than 95 percent of job-creators are small businesses. We must give small businesses the same incentives to open and expand that we give large corporations. And we must work with the Mississippi Development Authority to expand our offerings and assistance to the small business community and entrepreneurs of Mississippi.

2. We must demand more from out-of-state corporations. When we negotiated with Stion Corporation to come from California and open a new facility in Hattiesburg that would create 1,000 jobs, we made a few requests. Particularly, we said they needed to hire Mississippi contractors to build their facility and hire Mississippi workers to fill their jobs. We didn't want them bringing a bunch of out-of-state labor to take Mississippi jobs. They agreed, and so will other corporations. Mississippi is a great place to do business, and we can't be scared to make demands at the negotiating table.

3. Finally, we have to hold large corporations responsible for the tax incentives they receive. If Mississippi taxpayers are going to pick up the tab for large corporations to come here, then these large corporations need to create the jobs and provide the investments they say they will. We need annual reviews of corporations with tax incentives to ensure they are upholding their end of the deal. If they are not, then they either need to correct the problem or we need to reconsider the tax incentives.

When it comes to job creation, our top concern must be the people of Mississippi. Not only must we create more jobs, we must also protect the interest of the taxpayers who make job recruitment and tax incentives possible.

As we celebrate the working men and women of Mississippi, let's also consider the 150,000 Mississippians who have no jobs. Let's start today, working together, to find ways to create more jobs so we can cut our unemployment rate and allow more people the opportunity to work.

Sincerely,

Johnny DuPree

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