When normal non-economists like us discuss the economy, we talk
about jobs- the unemployment rate, whether companies are hiring or firing, etc.
Sure, we may mention GDP or the trade balance, but the jobs report is the only
tangible measure by which we can actually gauge economic performance. And this
focus on jobs is not unwise, as many other economic measurements (such as those
previously mentioned) are affected by the health of the labor force. Such a
focus on jobs leads to the conclusion that Pennsylvania under Governor Tom
Corbett is in a promising position as supported by the data explained in this
post.
When Corbett came into office in 2011, the nation was still
struggling from the 2008 crash. Though the Great Recession had ended (on paper)
in June, 2009, the economy was in a period of economic stagnation, with unemployment
stuck at
around 9%. Pennsylvania was in a relatively better position at roughly
8% unemployment, but it was far from optimum. Something had to be done.
Once in office, Corbett began a series of business friendly
policies which, as will be discussed later, have succeeded in boosting
Pennsylvanian job creation. Perhaps most notably, he promoted natural gas
drilling; the effects of which were written about by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics. Basically, largely because of Corbett’s support,
Pennsylvania has become the second largest natural gas drilling state in terms
of employment. Other states in the Marcellus Shale generally have less friendly
business policies, like New
York which bans fracking outright, and have not come even remotely close to
matching Pennsylvania’s success. And these jobs, whose average pay of $83,000
easily beat the state’s median pay of $52,267,
help to support many other PA industries, according
to a Penn State study. Essentially, we can assume that many job gains in
other industries since the drilling boom began were caused by Corbett’s
adoption of natural gas drilling.
Even though the natural gas industry has been Corbett’s
greatest economic success, he has done much more to make Pennsylvania a
business friendly state. He’s
introduced budgets that would end the simultaneous taxation of business
income and business assets, reduce the state corporate tax rate (PA’s rate being
the highest in the nation), and allow start-up business tax deductions to aid
new businesses, among other positive plans.
Obviously, this would all be for naught if success didn’t
follow. Thankfully, Corbett’s plans are working. In June, 2014, Pennsylvania’s
unemployment rate dropped
to 5.6%, well below the national average of 6.1% and even further from the
8.1% rate Corbett began with. And, considering that Corbett oversaw a decrease
of 55,000 government positions, it’s clear that the private sector, easily the
most important aspect of the economy, has done very well during Corbett’s term.
However, as with most of Corbett’s accomplishments, there is
some ridicule of his performance. Critics tend to point to PA’s 47th
ranking of job creation in percent since 2011. However, as George
Washington University economist Tara Sinclair points out, it’s expected
that Pennsylvania’s job growth would be lower than other states because PA was
hurt less during the Great Recession compared to the rest of the country. In
other words, while other states may gain a larger percentage of growth, it’s
merely to replace what they lost, and PA simply has less to replace.
Overall, the job market has made tremendous strides under
Governor Tom Corbett. His adoption of business friendly policies, including
natural gas companies, has put Pennsylvania in a much better position than when
he took over in 2011. However, as is typical nationwide, our economy is not out
of the woods yet. Therefore, we need Corbett, because no other candidate will embrace
business and subsequently foster job creation like our governor has.
No comments:
Post a Comment