BEDFORD — Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling told a group of business leaders and local officials in Bedford on Monday that he sees encouraging signs in the state’s economy, but “question marks” still linger about the economic effect of federal policies.
“We all know we’ve been through a pretty tough time,” Bolling said at a luncheon with the Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce. “The recession has had an impact across the board, on everybody and everything.”
Bolling said he considers economic growth “the rising tide that can help lift all ships.”
“There are things we can do to help position Virginia to take advantage of the economic resurgence,” he said. “We understand the government doesn’t create jobs, the private sector does. There are things the government can do to help support the private sector.”
He said through the first seven months of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration that 145 economic development deals were reached that, when fully developed, would create about 8,000 jobs “pretty evenly distributed” across Virginia.
In speaking with CEOs of companies across the state in the past seven months, he said, he’s heard consistently that there is money to invest and hire but there is uncertainty with policies coming out of Washington, D.C.
“They are not policies that create jobs — they are policies that kill jobs,” Bolling said, mentioning cap-and-trade environmental regulations, federal spending and debt and new health insurance mandates. “And these are things that can drive the economy right back into recession.”
In June of this year, the state’s unemployment rate slid downward slightly to 7 percent according to the Virginia Employment Commission, though unemployment in some Southside counties remains above 10 percent.
Bolling said state lawmakers recently invested $57.5 million in a bipartisan effort to aid economic development and job creation programs
“I am confident we are making good decisions in Virginia,” he said. “We are being very aggressive with our efforts.”
Bolling said more has to be done to help small businesses and promote trade jobs that are profitable but do not require a four-year college degree.
“The truth is we’re not doing enough to promote those opportunities,” he said.
Bolling also addressed the Altavista Area Chamber of Commerce on Monday evening.
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