This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 31, 2012 - Over the past four years, I’ve focused on making sure Missourians in all parts of our state have good jobs in their communities, an affordable quality education for their kids, and a fiscally responsible government that brings people together to get things done and supports those in need.
Today, on all of these fronts, we’re making clear progress. Missouri’s sterling AAA credit rating is intact, unemployment is down, and more Missourians are going on to college than ever before. In fact, Missouri’s unemployment rate recently dropped to 6.9 percent, a four-year low and nearly a full point below the national average. But numbers don’t tell the whole story.
By bringing people together, we negotiated record investments from Ford and General Motors – providing a stable job and a steady paycheck for thousands of Missouri families. And by bringing Democrats and Republicans together, we helped thousands of children with autism get proven treatments that will help them lead more engaged and rewarding lives.
If given the opportunity, I will continue to bring people together to keep our state on a fiscally sustainable path, invest in our students and workers, and create a climate where businesses of all sizes can grow and create jobs.
Importantly, the progress we’ve made over the past four years was built on a strong foundation of fiscal discipline. While Washington was running up record debt, we made the tough choices necessary to balance the budget every year, hold the line on taxes and protect our AAA credit rating. Instead of raising taxes or going into debt, we made government smaller and more efficient – cutting $1.8 billion from the budget, reducing the state workforce by 4,300 positions and eliminating dozens of outdated boards and commissions.
By managing the budget responsibly, we’ve protected Missouri’s perfect AAA credit rating, which saves taxpayers millions and shows businesses that Missouri is a safe and stable environment to invest. Fiscal responsibility is good for our state, good for our economy – and it’s just the right thing to do.
That commitment to fiscal discipline has also allowed us to make common sense investments in education and job training that will strengthen our economy now and in years to come. That’s why, while many states slashed support for education, we provided record funding for K-12 schools. We froze tuition for two years and dramatically expanded our A+ Scholarship program, which covers two years of tuition and fees for students at Missouri community colleges, to 65,000 more students. To make sure Missourians of all ages can get the training they need for the jobs of the future, we increased our investment in our Customized Worker Training program by 50 percent and made strategic investments in our community colleges and universities.
Today, test scores and graduation rates are up, and Missouri is number one in the nation for holding down tuition increases over the past three years.
Finally, we must continue to foster an environment where businesses of all sizes can grow and create jobs. That’s why, as governor, I worked with more than 600 business leaders from across our state to develop the Missouri Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth. This five-year plan is our blueprint to create jobs and transform our economy for the future. We also cut taxes on small businesses and eliminated the franchise tax, saving businesses more than $80 million a year. And because selling more Missouri-made around the globe means more jobs for Missourians here at home, we’ve made expanding access to world markets a top priority.
As a result, Missouri is now one of the top 10 most business-friendly states in the nation and 6th in small business growth. Exports of Missouri-made products have hit record highs, while Missouri’s unemployment rate is at a four-year low -- clear signs that our bipartisan and fiscally disciplined approach is moving our state in the right direction.
I’m proud that here in Missouri, we bring Democrats and Republicans together to move our state forward. We’ve come a long way. But we’re not done yet. Our best days are in front of us.
Jay Nixon is the Democratic candidate for Missouri governor.