Bolling: Government's role not to create jobs

Lt. Gov. Bob Bolling said Thursday in Lynchburg that the government’s role is not to create jobs, but to create a business environment for the private sector to create jobs.

“We do not believe the government creates jobs,” he said.

He said that when this administration came into office in 2010, Virginia had fallen behind other states in economic development infrastructure and incentive programs to bring in new businesses. Despite this, un-employment levels in Virginia were still below the national average in January of 2010, at 7.2 pecent.

“We had done well despite ourselves,” he said.

Bolling said the state has invested $100 million in the past two years in economic development programs to try to correct that issue. He said that since the administration took office, they have closed 613 business deals, created more than 36,000 jobs and seen $4.4 billion in capital investments in the state, citing information from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Virginia Employment Commission.

About 75 percent of the business deals were expansions of facilities, Bolling said.

He spoke to about 35 people about the state’s economic development efforts and small businesses at the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce open forum Thursday afternoon at Wiley|Wilson, an architectural and engineering firm in Lynchburg. Bolling is a member of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s cabinet as chief jobs creation officer.

And while he was touting the pro-business environment in Virginia, Bolling was clear to say they were not taking a victory lap. He said there are still more than 265,000 Virginians unemployed during a time of economic uncertainty.

“I think it shows we are on the right track in Virginia,” he said.

Bolling said 44 percent of the jobs created were in northern Virginia, while central Virginia came in second in the state with 16 percent of the jobs created. Hampton Roads was third at 12 percent.

But he warned that if the nation slips back into recession, the state will be pulled back in as well.

He said he believes the economy will keep treading water until the November 2012 elections for federal government, but added that it was a bipartisan criticism. Bolling said that until legislators in Washington, D.C. start making pro-business measures, “I really think we could be looking at a lost decade, economically speaking.”

After his speech, Bolling opened up the floor to questions from the audience. When asked about small business resources, he said small businesses make up a majority of the employment in the state and that the state needs to be better at reaching out to those businesses about what is available to them. He said many small businesses can benefit from those resources, but don’t know where to go.

Marty Guidice, a member of the chamber’s small business committee, said there was the ability locally to collaborate to raise the level or knowledge of small business resources.

“The opportunity is tremendous,” he said.