Gubernatorial candidate Nixon courts chamber members

Nixon, a Democrat who grew up in De Soto, sharply criticized his Republican opponent, U.S. Congressman Kenny Hulshof, while addressing Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce members Sept. 9 at the chamber. Nixon said Hulshof and other Washington politicians who voted to expand trade with China and extend tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas are to blame for Missouri’s 6.4 percent unemployment rate – the highest in more than a decade.

“In the past year, Missouri has lost more jobs than all eight of our bordering states combined,” Nixon said, noting that nearly 200,000 Missourians are currently out of work.

Unemployment jumped 0.7 percent from June to July in Missouri, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only Mississippi, South Carolina and North Carolina experienced higher spikes in unemployment during the same period.

Unemployment in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area jumped to 5.3 percent in July from to 4.9 percent in June, according to the BLS.

Citing a study by the Economic Policy Institute – a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington – Nixon said Hulshof’s support for a 2000 bill that normalized trade with China cost Missouri some 45,000 jobs.

“Outsourcing Missouri jobs certainly generates economic growth in Beijing or New Delhi or Jakarta, but it doesn’t help Missouri’s economy,” Nixon said.

Hulshof spokesman Scott Baker responded to Nixon’s claims by portraying the attorney general as “hypocritical” for previously supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement. Baker also pointed out that the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Missouri have endorsed Hulshof.

“Those who are in the business of creating jobs are endorsing Kenny Hulshof in this race,” he said. “That speaks volumes about who is offering the best plan to bolster the state’s job climate.”

Hulshof also was in Springfield Sept. 9; both he and Nixon addressed the Missouri Municipal League during its annual conference at University Plaza Convention Center.

Eye on human capital

Nixon said Missouri’s work ethic remains strong despite the rise in unemployment, and he laid out his plan for rebuilding the state’s work force and retraining those who have lost their jobs.

“I believe to turn this economy around, we have to invest in Missouri’s greatest asset – its hardworking people,” Nixon said. “We’ve got to invest in what I call human capital.”

Under the Missouri Promise plan, Nixon has proposed that high school students participating in the A+ program be allowed to attend state universities tuition-free. Students in the A+ program are currently limited to state community colleges and technical schools.

The plan would make higher education more affordable for middle-class families and allow college graduates to enter the work force unburdened by sizeable student loan debt, Nixon added.

State government also must make a “serious commitment” to work force development by working more closely with community colleges and technical schools, Nixon said, adding that curriculum at those schools should be tailored to direct students down career paths in high demand.

Hulshof has proposed a similar plan called Missouri Fast Track, which Baker said would direct the state Department of Economic Development to act as an intermediary between companies eyeing Missouri for expansion and community colleges to train skilled workers specifically to meet the prospective employer’s needs.

“We think that will be a big draw to new businesses,” Baker said.

Despite ongoing concerns about the state’s so-called “brain drain,” Nixon’s campaign insists that the human capital route would attract employers to Missouri. Companies that elect to expand their operations in Missouri and receive state tax breaks or incentives should follow through with promised job creation or face the consequences, the attorney general added.

“If that company breaks that promise and ships those jobs overseas, we must take back those incentives and put that money back in the state’s economy,” Nixon said.

Nixon also told chamber members he would create a cabinet-level position for a liaison to work directly with Missouri’s small businesses, a group he described as the “backbone” of the state’s economy. The official would work with small-business owners to ease regulatory headaches and streamline the application process for various tax credits.

Toss-up vote

Senior Recruiters Inc. owner Eric Naegler, who asked Nixon about regulatory reform, said he wasn’t impressed with the candidate’s response. Naegler said he’s no fan of overreaching state regulations that drive up expenses for businesses and taxpayers.

“The cost driver in state expenditures is elevated or buoyed up by regulation,” he said. “It bloats our economy.”

Nixon’s pledge not to raise taxes as well as his stance on keeping college grads out of debt resonated with Naegler, but he called Nixon’s framing of Missouri’s job loss “intellectually dishonest.”

Naegler said, “The cost of doing business – the regulation, the workers’ comp, the lawsuits – is what is causing jobs to go overseas. … The jobs go overseas because you as the consumer want to buy reasonably priced products.”

Naegler said he remains in the “undecided column” of voters who must make up their minds before heading to polls Nov. 4.

“In the 30 years I’ve been a political junkie, no matter who I vote for, nothing changes,” he said.