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Owens: three ideas to help put people back to work

Posted 7/22/11

To the Editor: In recent weeks, I have traveled throughout New York’s 23rd Congressional district and listened to many of my constituents express their top concern, which is how best to create jobs …

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Owens: three ideas to help put people back to work

Posted

To the Editor:

In recent weeks, I have traveled throughout New York’s 23rd Congressional district and listened to many of my constituents express their top concern, which is how best to create jobs and spur economic development in Upstate New York.

As your Representative, I am always looking for ways Congress can practically accomplish this goal.

Too many of my colleagues have become focused on scoring political points and have largely forgotten what most Americans depend on for their homes, food, education, and vacations -- a good paying job.

Although government should not directly create jobs, it can create the conditions necessary for job growth, and we must move past the partisan rancor we have seen from Congress during the last several years to do so.

Giving this much thought and having reviewed different proposals, it appears to me that Congress must do three things to help put millions of Americans back to work:

• First, pass a transportation bill. This will begin the process of building and repairing the nation’s main modes of transportation, which will put people back to work. A comprehensive reauthorization of federal transportation programs will not only create construction and manufacturing jobs in the near-term, but also provides potential to create jobs in the long-term when infrastructure is created or enhanced to move goods.

• Next, pass a farm bill. This will help to create jobs, particularly in Upstate New York, by supporting family farms and giving them the tools they need to hire and expand. The investment that we make in local agriculture through a farm bill will yield dividends in jobs, economic development, and food security.

• Finally, Congress should put forth a plan that will revise the tax code so that it becomes simpler, fairer, and provides some sense of predictability for American consumers and small business owners. By restoring stability to the marketplace through a simplified tax code, Upstate entrepreneurs will be better equipped to plan ahead, building their business model, and hire locally in the process.

I would like to know what you think about this.

If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas about this or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me through my website or at any one of my offices. My door is

always open.

Rep. Bill Owens

23rd Congressional District