Statement Regarding Goddard's Borrowed "Jobs" Plan
August 19, 2010“General Goddard’s campaign is guilty of political plagiarism, as it borrows extensively from what Governor Brewer has already proposed and implemented, and from what Governor Napolitano proposed but never implemented.
“Here are some preliminary, first review examples:
- ‘Form a deal-closing fund’ – DONE. Such a fund was already proposed by Governor Brewer and implemented.
- ‘Create and empower a private-public partnerships entity’ – DONE.
- ‘Cut red-tape for new business’ – DONE.
- ‘R&D tax incentives’ – DONE.
- ‘Focus on Energy Jobs’ – DONE. Arizona was named nation’s ‘Solar Energy King’ by a Business Facilities magazine. Another recent headline: ‘World’s Largest Solar Plant Slated for Gila Bend’
- ‘Renewable energy jobs training’ – DONE.
- ‘Retrofit of state buildings’ – DONE.
- ‘Recommit to Science Foundation of Arizona’ – DONE.
- ‘Eliminate burdensome regulations’ – DONE.
“Another example, ‘form a commission to study and reform Arizona’s tax structure,’ was done by Former Governor Napolitano, but was never implemented.
“There is one thing this plan would successfully accomplish –a thousand new committees and lots more talk. The last thing Arizona’s economy needs is more meetings – Governor Brewer believes in getting things done!
“This plan is full of fluff, and offers practically nothing new or innovative. His few new proposals are predicated on the state government spending millions and millions more, with not even a suggestion where or how that new tax revenue is supposed to successfully and realistically appear. Just like the last two years, General Goddard fails to even mention any hard decisions necessary for real leadership.
“Goddard’s very first sentence shows how he has no faith in Arizona and doesn't deserve to lead: Our economy is in ‘near ruin?’ The only thing ruining our economy is his President, his Congress and their failed economic policies. In Arizona, the same Democrat party failed to participate in Arizona’s budget process.
“Unlike General Goddard, Governor Jan Brewer didn’t wait until a political election to begin talking about job creation. She began cleaning up Arizona’s economy and broken government from her first day on the job by signing an executive order freezing new job-killing regulations. Conversely, General Goddard has never seen a new state or federal regulation he doesn’t like.
“Unlike General Goddard, Governor Jan Brewer is not forced, obviously due to his long-time political affiliations, to ignore and never even mention the consequences of years of fiscal mismanagement and over-spending by his former running-mate. Instead, Governor Brewer chose to lead and make the hard decisions, depart from the obvious failures of the past, making the reductions and successfully passing the proposals that provide economic stability for the State.
“Unlike General Goddard, Governor Brewer has opposed the federal government’s radical and extreme efforts to implement massive new environmental regulations that would devastate thousands of current jobs throughout Arizona, including important jobs to Native Americans and rural and urban Arizonans.
“Just like the last Arizona governor who drove our state into the ground economically, General Goddard wants a lot more government spending to rescue Arizona, but he leaves for everyone else the rest of the hard work and real decisions to actually balance a budget.
“General Goddard never mentions in his news release the importance of a balanced state budget to economic stability and future job growth and creation. The only possible explanation for why he fails a critical constitutional role of state government in our economy – it can only be because he still has no balanced budget plan, nor any plans to fess up and tell Arizonans what he plans to do to balance the budget.”
