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Orcutt issues statement on
today's revenue forecast
'The governor needs to do more than shed a few
state jobs, she needs to shed state regulations,' says Orcutt.
'Regulations that are leading to more and more people being unemployed.'
Rep. Ed Orcutt,
R-Kalama, member of the Revenue
Forecast Council and ranking member of the House Finance Committee,
issued the following statement regarding today's revenue forecast:
"We keep hoping the end to our state
and national recession is near, and perhaps it is. It looks like
we've finally hit bottom, but that's still a difficult place to be,
especially for those who are unemployed and looking for work.
"Washington lost another 8,000 jobs last
month as our unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent. Boeing is
looking at South Carolina with keen interest, the state Department of
Labor and Industries is talking about a 15 to 20 percent increase in
employer workers' compensation rates for 2010, and our state has the nation's
highest minimum wage. The writing is on the wall and it clearly
says, 'Jobs Not Welcome.'
"This state and its leaders should be
exhausting all resources and making every effort to attract jobs to our
area and retain the precious family-wage jobs that we have. The
governor needs to do more than shed a few state jobs, she needs to shed
state regulations - regulations that are leading to more and more people
being unemployed.
"I have joined with several of my House
Republican colleagues in writing a letter to the governor, urging her to
do more in terms of cutting through the regulations and the bureaucracy
that hinders our employer community from creating jobs. That
letter should be on her desk tomorrow and I look forward to her reply.
"While Olympia and Washington D.C. worry
about reducing carbon, families are worried about putting food on the
table. Olympia gives unemployed workers another $45 per week, when
what they really want is 40 hours of work per week.
"While we need to worry about our budget, and budget writers need to
prepare now for us to take swift fiscal action in the 2010 session, we
need to worry more about what impact this economy is having on
Washington's families. When we resolve the issues they face by
getting them back to work, the revenue will return."
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For more information, contact:
Brendon Wold, Senior
Information Officer:
(253) 973-0505
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