Utah Governor Gary Herbert shared his thoughts on how to turn a statewide economy around on Monday at NAIOP’s monthly luncheon.
Herbert, the Republican Governor of Utah since 2009, has presided over significant growth in that state. New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez joined him at the luncheon for a discussion on economic development.
“I tend to be proud of my state and the successes we’ve had,” Herbert said. “When I started, we had 8.4 percent unemployment. We have, in fact, turned the economy around. Utah’s been blessed by a lot of accolades. Forbes named us the best place for business; we have the most Top 10s listed in the ‘Best Places in America for Small Business.’ We had 8.4 percent unemployment, and as of last Friday, we were down to 3.6 percent. Even beyond that, we have the second-fastest growing economy in America.”
Gov. Herbert said that his state’s success comes down to five principles.
First, “make sure you don’t have a high tax rate. We have not raised the corporate income tax rates in 15 years. That means we’re predictable,” he said.
Second, “the biggest complaint isn’t just taxes,” he explained, “the biggest complaint is on the regulations. The regulations that serve no point just get in the way. We had 1,969 business regulations, 368 of them has no purpose. We eliminated them.”
Third, Herbert said, make sure government is efficient. “We want to make sure what we have is used efficiently. Government is labor intensive. I’m a limited government guy, but that doesn’t mean I’m anti-governement.”
“It just needs to be efficient,” Herbert added. “In Utah, we’ve pushed the envelope. We have fewer state employees today than we did in 2001, one per 112 residents, to 1 for 145 today. We’ve reduced the amount of labor.”
Fourth is having a skilled labor force. “As high as the unemployment rate is in the nation,” he said, “there are jobs that go unfilled. We’re only graduating one-fifth the people we need. That’s why STEM education is so important. We just put $30 million in it, and also the appropriate amount of counseling in schools.”
Fifth, he said, “it is a global marketplace. We need to understand that in America. I was in China, and I was talking to the economic minister, and he knew so much about Utah. He said, ‘We want to be like Utah. We will catch you, it may be 100 years, but we will catch you.’”
By: Dan Mayfield, Reporter-Albuquerque Business First
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