ROBIN ON JOBS & THE ECONOMY

I believe that our community is a great place to live, but it must be a place where people can find good paying jobs or start a business. In this down economy, I know that we need elected officials in Richmond who will do whatever they can for folks that have lost their jobs. I know that we must create good paying jobs right here in Virginia, and provide incentives for new businesses to locate in our Commonwealth. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and we should do everything we can to make sure that they can hire new workers and provide good benefits.

We should not have rejected the $125 million of Federal economic stimulus recovery funds. Those resources would have gone to families of unemployed workers in Virginia but are now heading to other states. Our legislators, regardless of political feelings, have an obligation to look out for our workforce.

Had I been in the House of Delegates, I would never have voted to send our tax dollars to other states when our families, friends, and neighbors right here in Virginia are struggling.

As your Delegate, I will bring a fresh approach to Richmond, fighting for legislation that:

·         Provides incentives for clean, renewable energy jobs right here in Virginia.

·         Fully fund the Governors Opportunity Fund so that we can bring new business to the Commonwealth.

·         Make sure that small, women and minority owned businesses have a fair opportunity to work with state government.

·         Finally addresses our region’s transportation problems, in turn creating thousands of good paying jobs right here in our community, allowing businesses to expand, and help drive economic growth. It is about time.

·         Lowers the tax burden on the middle class.

·         Provides tax credits for small businesses that create jobs.

Robin believes that our community is a great place live, but it also has to be a great place to find a job or start a business. She understands that many in our community and throughout Virginia are hurting economically right now, and that we need common sense solutions which stimulate the economy and assist unemployed workers in every way possible until we can get people back to work.

Robin understands that lasting solutions will not and cannot be developed and implemented overnight. However, she does believe that we should be doing all we can to assist unemployed workers and their families in the meantime.  With an unemployment rate in Newport News that has increased 93% in the last year, Robin was outraged to learn that her opponent voted to reject President Obama’s federal stimulus money that would have provided an additional $125 million in unemployment insurance to the members of our community who have lost their jobs.

Robin will fight to make sure that our community receives every bit of assistance that our struggling families deserve, and that the money we have paid in taxes does not go to support the struggling families of other states.

Robin believes that stimulating our local and state economy is not only about giving Virginians the help they need in the short term, but also about developing mid- to long-term solutions that will create reliable jobs in the future.