When I was campaigning for Congress last year, I told voters that helping get people back to work was very important to me. I meant it then, and I still mean it now. That’s why I am conducting a major jobs initiative this week, bringing together job creators (the small business owners that are the backbone of New Hampshire’s economy), people looking for work, and your Representative in Congress. Together, we’re discussing ways Washington can help and what it should do (or in some cases not do) to help businesses grow and create new jobs.
You see, in the free enterprise system, things work best when the private sector creates jobs and government plays a supporting, encouraging role. Government can assist the private sector by protecting it from over taxation, over regulation and limiting its intrusion into our daily lives. Government can create an economic environment for businesses to expand with confidence by handling our nation’s finances responsibly, which in turn creates the predictability that companies need to plan for tomorrow. That is the best recipe for job creation.
Things work the other way, too. We’re just emerging from…
…a period when Washington pumped an enormous infusion of borrowed money into the economy in an attempt to “stimulate” it back to prosperity. The result: a staggering national debt, alarming deficits and a national unemployment rate that’s still hovering just below nine percent (and remember, that figure does not include the long-term unemployed who are rapidly losing hope of ever finding work, and the millions more who now find themselves underemployed).
Clearly, we need a different approach. That’s where my “Getting Granite Staters Back to Work” initiative enters the picture. All this week, and into this summer, I am bringing together the various people involved in job creation to work in sync for the goal we all share: putting more people on our state’s payrolls.
We started off by surveying hundreds of small business owners all over the First District, asking what Washington can do to help them expand and grow – and what it should avoid doing, too. (Remember: government has too often been a hindrance to job creation, not a helper. We need to learn from those mistakes and not repeat them as we move forward). Be sure to visit my website Guinta.house.gov to read the results of that survey.
It’s important to expand on the information we learned from the survey by hearing directly from the people who actually put the “help wanted” sign in their store window: small business owners. That’s why I am scheduled to hold a Job Creators Roundtable meeting in Manchester on Thursday, April 28th. I want to hear them tell me how what specific steps Washington can take to work alongside them as they prosper, grow and hire new employees.
Finally, my office will bring together job creators and job seekers during two Job Fairs in our district throughout the spring and summer. We’re still working out the final details, and my office will inform the public about them soon. I’m eager to help unite people who want to work with people who want to hire workers.
As I wrote earlier, government alone isn’t the answer for lowering unemployment. But when government works in a positive partnership with small businesses, we can accelerate the pace as our country moves from recession into recovery. That is what I am dedicated to providing.
You can follow what I’m doing 24/7 on Facebook at www.facebook.com/repfrankguinta and on Twitter at @RepFrankGuinta. Please visit my website at Guinta.House.Gov to send me your thoughts on the issues and to learn about events in your area. And you’re always welcome to call my district office in Manchester at (603) 641-9536 or my Washington office at (202) 225-5456.
Until next time, please know that I am always on your side and actively fighting for New Hampshire’s interests in Washington.
