 Thank you all for for being here. Let me just point out I know a lot of introductions have been made but Dennis Davin who is my secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development Dennis You want to just stand up? We're looking for great things here. I Also want to point out that that I do have a big long background in the private sector. I actually this is my first foray into public office and I really build a business for most of my adult life and then in 2006 sold the business and in 2009 came back to the business and It was on the verge of bankruptcy building products. We actually had some facilities here in the Lehigh Valley we still do and and I Say we I actually retired in 2013 But this has been a great place to do business came back in in 2009 turned the business around and Succeeded so that that I can could could actually do this run for for governor and I succeeded But I think it's important to know that I am a lifelong unapologetic Democrat, but I've spent my life in the business community actually building a business I think I mentioned at one point. I was the only PhD forklift operator in York County at the time I came back to to York County But I did spend my time building a business. I spent much of my adult life focused on Trying to revitalize the city of York. So I really have a great appreciation for what's going on here in the Lehigh Valley You're not only producing economic development, but you're doing it in a way that that is revitalizing this community And that's that's really important not just for the Lehigh Valley, but it's really important for Pennsylvania we need to find a way to do that across the state and And because we can't afford to have places like York or Bethlehem or Allentown or Easton or any city in Pennsylvania lag behind in the the race to be as great as they can be So I think what you're doing here is is remarkable and amazing and this makes this a perfect place for me To try to blend those two things how we can revitalize communities Make better lives in Pennsylvania and do that all through revitalizing our economy our best days have to be ahead of us and they have to be ahead of us because we are going to be a Magnet for economic growth for entrepreneurs who want to come here and create good jobs. That's what I want for Pennsylvania and I want to do that fairly But I want to do it really effectively. So that's why I'm here. I'm given my budget address a week from Tuesday on the 3rd of March next Tuesday and I plan to Bring out a lot of different ideas as to what I think we ought to do in this first year in my office of office To make Pennsylvania better But I want to give you some advance notice of what I want to do and in the economic development area because I think it's really Important and I think I'm going to do some things that are very very different for the first time in a long time And and I hope that you appreciate and approve of what what I'm going to propose so My background in business. I think informs me in terms of what we ought to do to make Pennsylvania the kind of place that is attractive for people who want to build businesses here And I think I know where have I speak because I've actually done that and I know that Pennsylvania has a Jobs deficit We have a lot of things that we have to work on and I talked in my inaugural dress You know about creating a Commonwealth where we have schools that teach jobs that pay In government that works But I want to talk today about the the actually was the first thing that jobs to pay We do have a jobs deficit here and we need to do something about that Too many Pennsylvanians too many of our fellow citizens are struggling to make ends meet and too many of our best and brightest are leaving Pennsylvania for other places I said my address my inaugural dress that I'm I don't want to be a part of the first generation of Pennsylvanians really to tell their kids they have to go somewhere else to succeed I have two daughters both very bright young women 33 and 31 one's an architect One is a geologist neither of them lives in Pennsylvania. We need to change that Personally, I want to change that but I think we need to change that as a Commonwealth And and we have worked to do last year the state saw some modest job growth But it was under 1% and a time when our economy was coming back actually 7 tenths of 1% And we're at the bottom of the country in terms of the states with job growth and I understand states Have to go in the band of the ups and downs of the macro economy and the global economy But we can do things to make sure that we're at the top of that band wherever we are in the cycle Right now we're at the bottom of that band and we shouldn't be especially in job growth We have to make new investments in 21st century manufacturing and Refocus our economic development dollars and our strategies I know manufacturing is something that people talk about sort of pine for the past to say that's not going to come back I've actually rebuilt my business on the basis of American manufacturing and not just high-tech advanced Manufacturing staying ahead of the curve For crying out loud. I make kitchen cabinets My company sells decking and railing not high-tech stuff and we compete with Overseas manufacturers very well with American workers. We can do that. We can do that in this country and we can do that Manufacturing in Pennsylvania for too long the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hasn't been a place where business businesses feel they can come and grow They can't they don't feel that they can come here and invest Country leading high corporate tax rates have never have not been helpful I mean, I know we we have a lot of ways you can avoid pain at 9.99 percent rate But there's a sticker shock and too many people look at that and say, you know, I'm not coming to Pennsylvania your tax rates are too high So the Commonwealth isn't going to create jobs The Commonwealth isn't going to actually provide the jobs, but the Commonwealth can set the table for robust economic growth And that's what I want to do We need to to strengthen the middle class. We need to strengthen communities like this And the Commonwealth can play a role a constructive role in in helping the private sector do these things In order to create jobs that pay and an economy that actually works We must acknowledge that success will require investment in our companies and our people We have to recognize the importance of the private sector and today I'm announcing that my budget will contain significant reforms aimed at aimed at three goals for economic development That will create good paying jobs Middle-class jobs family sustaining jobs and building a pro-growth business climate for Pennsylvania. That's right. I'm a Democrat And I'm saying this I want to grow Pennsylvania's manufacturing sector And I want to create workforce partnerships that that actually make sure that we have skills that the business community needs to Actually develop. So anyway, what are we going to do? Let me start with how we believe we can create a non-compet or a very competitive climate to attract and retain jobs in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania's economic prosperity has long been hobbled by an outdated tax structure that fails to incentivize job growth Am I saying anything that's new to anybody here? No, I don't think so My sweeping tax relief package achieves economic growth and approves improves the fairness of the Commonwealth's tax structure In a number of ways first I'm going to reduce the court. I'm going to propose and this is a democracy I'm going to propose reducing the corporate net income tax rate within two years Flipping Pennsylvania from one of the highest. I think maybe the highest corporate net income tax Charger in the country to one of the lowest I want to go from our Incredibly obscene nine point nine nine percent. That's right nine point nine nine percent It's the corporate net income tax rate to four point nine nine percent within two years Now no one has done that before we've talked about that Different administrations have talked about that but I want to do that I want to go to five point nine nine percent the very first year the second year actually my first budget the first year of first full year January of 2017 take that to five point four nine and in January of 2018 take that to four point nine nine percent That is a 50 percent That's right I said 50 percent reduction in the nominal corporate net income tax rate in Pennsylvania That's the first thing I want to do now that would make us again one of the lowest the states that charge a corporate net income tax There are currently only six states in the country without a corporate net income tax But three of those states including Texas actually charge a business tax called the grocery seats tax So really there are only three states in the whole country without a corporate net Corporate tax at all we would be one of the lowest in the country That's something that that I've been Working on and hell I was spec expecting a standing ovation there anyway, okay That's alright forget it The second second thing we have to do we have been talking since the rich administration about eliminating again I paid this tax and so I know that it's wrong The capital stock and franchise tax, right and we've been talking about phasing that out since the rich administration And every so often we go into a recession someone says well, how let's just sort of delay phasing that out, right Okay, enough reductant enough stopping the phase out. It's scheduled to be phased out January 1st 2016 in less than a year. I want to do that on schedule. How's that? All right Now One of the things that that I was on the Business Tax Reform Commission in the early part of the the odds And one of the things that we talked about was in terms of reducing the the obscenely high rates Wanted to make sure that we broaden the base And we need to go to combine reporting to do that and so I'm I'm going to propose that as well Overall, this is a big drop in corporate net income tax. It's a it's a drop in corporate taxes Even with the combined reporting which was one of the big loopholes that was used to circumvent the the the tax All those things together. This should be a signal that we are open for business in Pennsylvania. Hope you like that second building Pennsylvania's thank you Building Pennsylvania's manufacturing sector again This is something that seems like a pipe dream politicians talk about this and they really don't know what they're talking about I actually have built the manufacturing business and we're headquartered in York, Pennsylvania And I've done it by basically taking a distribution mentality and turning it on its head and saying, you know We will design the supply chain in a way that makes makes takes full advantage of our nearness to the market We are close We are right in the middle of the richest market in the world right here and I've taken that Shrunk my supply chain so that we're not bringing product from East Asia or Europe or any place else in the world So we're bringing it from the United States and that advantage even with the higher wages and and the more Scrupulous regard for regulations and the lack of currency manipulation Allowed me to actually compete head-to-head with those other countries in the world We can make things here in this country and we need to get back to the point where we understand that we can make We should make things here in the United States because they provide good jobs and they provide great opportunities For our citizens and for our communities. So we need to do that the government I think working at the margins can can help manufacturing come back We need to first of all I need to sell that idea and I understand that as governor I can do that that we can do things the conventional wisdom is wrong that stuff has to go overseas We need to do it right here and other companies are recognizing that as well But I think I'm in a good position to actually preach that gospel in addition to that. Thank you In addition to that throughout my campaign I talked about doing some specific things And I don't believe in economic development by the deal that that has been in some cases That's the only thing the only arrow in our quiver and and we need to make deals And and I will continue to want to do that but that's at the margins We need to create the environment that is conducive to private sector growth We're entrepreneurs actually come and and do the hard heavy lifting to create the jobs But at the margins we can do some things to to make their jobs easier and one of those things I proposed throughout the campaign was a manufacturing jobs initiative for those companies that actually come to Pennsylvania and Create new jobs like say a million dollars worth of new jobs. I want to give them a reward And and so I have I'm proposing five million dollars in my budget to make sure we have money for to fund a tax Credit that will give companies that actually create good family sustaining jobs with benefits Good manufacturing jobs here in Pennsylvania and do that over time. I want to have it I want to have a clawback So there's some accountability here because some of our programs in the past have not had that accountability But if we do it right if we attract the right companies I want them to get an extra reward not just better tax situation a better tax environment And so five million dollars is there to fund a tax credit for that Next I want to provide five million dollars for a new initiative that works on the industrial resource centers the IRC's You're familiar with those. They actually were created in the Casey administration. It's sort of a way of Bringing businesses together and make sure that that skills that new ideas are being Distributed throughout the economy. I want to make those those organizations work better And give them more resources, so I'm proposing five million dollars for the IRC's in conjunction Thank you In conjunction with private sector growth, you know matching funds This could actually leverage private sector investment by three to one So that five million dollars could be worth a lot more than that if these industrial resource centers do what we want them to do to actually generate New new ideas and new funds from the private sector Finally I want to talk about creating workforce partnerships for economic success You know one of the things we have in Pennsylvania is is great institutions of higher education I mean, obviously you have some great ones right here in the Lehigh Valley, but we pencil that But did I what was yeah? Okay, right? I Knew that we get at least some some response, but Pennsylvania I think if you take the number of seats in higher education Pennsylvania ranks second or third in the country in terms of The number of seats and we certainly have some great institutions Well, we ought to take advantage of that and too often the people who come here and impart Their their wisdom or learn new skills in Pennsylvania at those institutions of higher education go elsewhere To use them so, you know, I haven't gotten a thank-you note from places in Texas or Washington State or California Have you thanking us for all? You know the skills We've we've given the people who actually create great jobs in their states But that's essentially what we've done. We've imported raw talent. We've exported skills And sent people off to use the things they learned here in Pennsylvania somewhere else I want to change that I'd like to keep people here I'd like to have them come here learn good things and then apply those new skills and talents that they learned here in Pennsylvania to create good jobs a strong economy and I think we can we can do that. I did that I Don't want to step on anybody so as I was president. I was chairman of the board of your College of Pennsylvania and When I was there one of the things I was proudest of was how your college brought different businesses together we created a mechanical engineering program and it was to create Mechanical engineers and a program that would would actually create good graduates But another goal was to actually bring people who were technicians in Manufacturing plants in your county mainly to come together and talk to each other and it became a continuing seminar and Continual improvement for manufacturers in your county The college was essentially a convener since then the college has done things to actually help monetize good ideas That come in out of the laboratories into the private sector. We've done things in Life sciences with with food technology. We can do things like that taking the raw material We have the human capital in our universities and I want to do that I want to have training programs that that make sure that that we are Creating relevant skills at the primary and secondary level But I also want to take these these ideas that are coming out of our universities and institutions of higher education To make sure that our economy and our businesses are making full use of the great skills We have here in Pennsylvania So my budget includes an 18 million dollars for programs that will help pennsylvania's gain Gain targeted job training and new skills necessary to compete in our changing economy But I also Want to have a significant boost in funding of two of pennsylvania's most successful The existing in-demand public post-secondary programs that work to meet the needs of regional and statewide employee employers We have wet net. I want to increase funding for that. We have the industry partnership program I want to increase investment in that but I also want to invest. Well, thank you. I Also want to invest in job linked literacy programs too much too often literacy is a problem when it comes to just employment It's a problem with CDL truck drivers. It's a problem with people who want to take entry-level positions I need to to we need to work together work on on making sure that that Employees have the basic skills. They're going to need We also need to make sure that that are again K through 12 pro programs are relevant to the needs of our of our industry We do need college graduates. We need people who want to go to college But we also need people who want to go and be plumbers and technicians and electricians We need that and and I think we need a An education system that recognizes that we need all of those skills. So my budget will propose Thank you Will propose that we we actually do a better job of trying to make Our schools our education system in general more relevant to the needs of our economy So in Pennsylvania What I'm saying is here. We need to do things differently and look beyond labels We've got to say we got to ask ourselves It's what we're doing. Does it make sense? And I think when I look at what we've been doing When I look at what we've been doing from the perspective that many of you have from the private sector I look at what we've been doing in the public sector. It hasn't made sense And so we do have major challenges ahead I understand that Pennsylvania has to do a lot of things that we haven't done But we do have resources here to do some great things It's time for pragmatism. I think we've had enough ideology out there. I'm not an ideologue and I think we need that in We have certainly having the private sector when I was running a business I didn't ask whether a solution I was trying to promote was a Republican or a Democratic idea The question was would it work? And I think we have to do that here in government And that's what I want to do. I reinvented I had Think good experience reinventing my company I'm very proud of what I did to bring my company back in the worst building products recession in the history of the world And I know we can do the same thing here. We can turn Pennsylvania around This is not a business or it has not been in my estimation a real business friendly state Although I got to say that you know, we do sort of badmouth ourselves a little bit too much I did build a business twice here in Pennsylvania located headquartered in York And have done quite well working out of Pennsylvania So we have improvements we can make but let's not lose sight of the fact that this is a pretty good place to do business Even even right now. Anyway, I reinvented my company in the depths of the recession I know we can do that here in Pennsylvania. We do have a lot of work to do We have a lot of work to do But I don't plan to pursue the betterment of our economy of our schools of our communities and Our government in a vacuum and I don't intend to do it at a snail's pace. We know what we have to do Let's just get to it. Let's start working and and get this over and done with and let's make Pennsylvania everything that we know It can be the great place the great Commonwealth great place that we can build Businesses attract people to Pennsylvania get my daughters back. That's what I want to do and I really appreciate you're giving me a Listening to what I want to do in my budget address. So thank you very much for having me here