Beginning in Charlottesville last Friday and continuing to Norfolk Monday, gubernatorial candidate Brian Moran is rolling out his economic recovery plan. At the core of his plan are small businesses, who comprise more than 97% of Virginia’s businesses and who employ about half of the private workforce. Also included are some of the most vulnerable workers among us.
The key parts of the plan:
- Jobs creation tax credit. Small businesses that hire new employees and retain them for at least one year will receive a tax credit of $2,000 for each such employee.
- Elimination of corporate income tax on businesses making less than $200,000 per year. According to the campaign, the funds saved by small businesses could help keep them afloat and hire more employees.
- Economic strike force. Started by executive order under Governor Mark Warner, Moran intends to engage this group to focus on recruiting businesses to hard-hit areas across the Commonwealth.
- Federal stimulus watchdog. As governor, Moran will create a federal stimulus watchdog whose responsibility it will be to coordinate the federal dollars coming to Virginia and ensure that the money is being spent wisely.
- Make the earned income tax credit refundable. Virginia implemented an earned income tax credit in 2006 but, unlike the federal credit, it can only offset the tax, not create a refund. Moran says he will work to make the credit refundable.
- Minimum wage. Moran supports indexing the minimum wage to inflation, much the same way that Social Security is indexed.
There is no doubt that the people of Virginia are suffering, as are many around the country. Jumpstarting our stalled economy is on everyone’s minds. These proposals presented by Moran represent a tremendous effort to move Virginia in the right direction. Just as I have problems with the national plan, this one isn’t perfect, either. But it starts the conversation. And that’s a good thing.
The Moran economic recovery plan tour will roll across Virginia. Be on the lookout for a date and time near you.
Disclosure: I support Brian Moran for Governor
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Corporate income taxes: These are a good start, but it would be easier and better to simply eliminate the corporate income tax completely.
The Economic Strike Force is also a good idea. But I would focus not just on recruiting businesses to those areas, but try to determine why businesses are not locating there on their own. What are businesses looking for that is not there?
Raise the minimum wage? The people in the hard-hit areas already cannot find jobs. Why make it harder? Indexing the minimum wage to inflation is a vicious circle — as the base wages go up, so do prices of the products and services created by those wage earners.