{"id":25320,"date":"2011-01-25T07:31:47","date_gmt":"2011-01-25T14:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=25320"},"modified":"2011-01-25T10:14:20","modified_gmt":"2011-01-25T17:14:20","slug":"for-job-creation-tools-not-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/01\/for-job-creation-tools-not-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"For job creation, we need tools, not rules"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)<\/p><\/div>\n

It was obvious from listening to Governor Martinez’s State of the State address<\/a> last week that job creation will be the central theme of her administration – at least in the near future.\u00a0But where are these jobs to come from?<\/p>\n

We must ask, what is the correct path to sustained economic growth?<\/p>\n

To answer this question, take a step back in time and examine the writings of an early economic thinker, Jean-Baptiste Say <\/a>(1767-1832).\u00a0Say\u2019s law, distilled, says \u201csupply creates its own demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the entrepreneur or small business owner, Say’s law simply translates to our government allocating resources (less taxes, less regulation) to the productive side of the economy – the side that produce real goods and real services and real jobs.<\/p>\n

Martinez gets Jean-Baptiste Say<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if our new governor has read Say or not, but she clearly understands that good economic and government policy mean getting out of the way of entrepreneurs and small businesses and empowering the productive side, as she said here in her State of the State address:<\/p>\n

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Thomas Molitor<\/p><\/div>\n

“I\u2019ve long said that government doesn\u2019t create jobs.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Government creates the environment where small businesses can create those jobs.<\/em><\/p>\n

“It\u2019s the small businesses \u2013 the mom and pop shops \u2013 the small startups that get lost in the layers of regulatory red tape in which different state agencies require different permit processes.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To address regulatory problems, Martinez proposes standardizing multi-agency administrative practices by passing what she is calling the \u201cRed Tape Reduction Act<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, give small businesses tools, not rules,<\/strong> to get their businesses off the ground in a shorter period of time and in a less costly way so they can create products and services that people want and will pay for, and that, in turn, will create jobs.<\/p>\n

Tool Shed New Mexico<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are a lot of jobs that will never return to New Mexico after this horrendous recession ends. We need to rethink, reinvigorate and reinvent our economy. That\u2019s not a depressing scenario – it\u2019s an altar call for all of us to answer with innovative solutions.<\/p>\n

One idea that sprang to mind as I was listening to the governor’s speech is for the government to start a website dedicated to providing tools to help New Mexicans grow their businesses.\u00a0Think of the website as a \u201ctool shed for prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The way I see it, Tool Shed New Mexico<\/strong> would be a lot of things. For starters, the website content strategy will be long on practical advice and resourceful links and short on rah-rah partisan rhetoric. The information and tools on this site will be designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses – and for people who advise and support them.<\/p>\n

Tool Shed New Mexico<\/strong> would provide free access to a wide range of resources. It would act as a gateway to government and private sector business information, news and services.\u00a0On this site there would be practical resources and links to information to help business owners and managers start, manage and grow their businesses \u2013 and deal with the day-to-day challenges they face.<\/p>\n

Tool Shed New Mexico<\/strong> would be a clearinghouse for everything a small business needs to know and do in moving its business forward:<\/p>\n