HARRISBURG, Pa., March 24, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry today responded to a recent newspaper column that rightly lamented the fact that the U.S. government and state government lead the list of the Commonwealth's top employers at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, and that of the only three private businesses in the top 10, none were in manufacturing or high-tech industries.
The column referenced individual employers, but the situation doesn't change much when looking at employment in specific industry segments. Government now employs more Pennsylvanians than the entire manufacturing industry, this in a state known for its rich manufacturing heritage.
This wasn't always the case. As recently as 2002, the manufacturing industry provided more jobs for Pennsylvanians than any other sector. Since that time, the manufacturing industry has plummeted sharply, while government has steadily increased to No. 2 behind health care/social assistance, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics.
If all of this raises eyebrows, it should. Pennsylvania employers struggle to create jobs in the face of tax laws that are antiquated and burdensome; health-care costs that are rising at alarming rates; a legal system that lacks fairness and personal responsibility; and labor laws that are not cost-effective. Meanwhile, government in the Commonwealth continues to grow beyond its means, viewing taxpayers as its personal piggybank.
Between 1991 and 2002, Pennsylvania had the fifth highest real per capita spending growth at 103 percent. State and local government spending has increased nearly 11 percent in the first two years of the Rendell administration, and the governor's proposed 2005-06 $23.845 billion budget represents a 4.2 percent increase over the current state budget, nearly double the rate of inflation.
Unchecked spending burdens taxpayers. This week, Senate Majority Leader David Brightbill, R-Lebanon, addressed this by introducing a Taxpayer Fairness Act that would restrict growth in state spending. The PA Chamber applauds this attempt to curb government spending that simply cannot be sustained.
This spending culture also fosters a philosophy that money alone is the way to solve the state's problems. Government has thrown millions of dollars at economic development initiatives and workforce development programs that pick and choose winners and losers, with very little evidence that any of those programs have yielded benefits that exceeded their costs.
Taxing and spending our way into prosperity doesn't work. Prosperity is not granted by government -- it comes from a free market within an environment of competitive business taxes, limited and efficient regulation, balanced labor laws, and freedom from the risk of arbitrary confiscation due to lawsuit abuse.
If we limit government growth and fully allow the private sector to be the economic engine that provides quality jobs for residents, Pennsylvania can start moving forward again -- for our jobs, our economy and our way of life.
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association and the fastest growing state chamber in the United States, with more than 9,000 members covering all 67 counties. More information is available on the Chamber's website at www.pachamber.org.
The PA Chamber of Business and Industry logo is available at: http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=353