Hubert H. Humphrey III Response
2
Question 2: Overall, Minnesota's economy is the
strongest it has been in years. On the agenda are issues such as
living wages, labor shortages,
welfare-to-work, and the changing economy in Greater
Minnesota. What do you feel the most pressing challenges will be?
How will you address them?
As I travel across Minnesota, business owners and CEOs consistently tell
me that the number one issue facing our business community is workforce
development.
Minnesota must have a workforce that is ready to do the job - the good
jobs we have and the good jobs we want to create. And our public
education system holds the key. Many of the ideas I talked about last
night will help solve this problem: investing in early education;
higher standards and greater accountability; access to technology; and
most importantly, guaranteeing two years of post-secondary education for
every Minnesota student who can't afford it.
But we can't stop there. We currently have a shortage of skilled
workers. We must provide our current workforce with better training
programs and create tax-deferred individual training accounts for
life-long learning. We must create opportunities for workers to gain
the skills they need to stay competitive in today's job market.
As you mentioned, our economy on aggregate is very good - unfortunately,
these good times have left many people behind. That's why I support a
living wage. Any corporation that receives a tax break or other public
financial aid must ensure that it meets this higher standard.
But that's not all. We must do a better job of matching where the jobs
are to where the workforce is located. That means investments in
transportation, affordable housing and quality, affordable child care.
Our final challenge is to rethink how we approach our economy, both in
Greater Minnesota and the metro area. We have to end disruptive
competition between communities. Instead of pitting Minneapolis against
St. Paul, Worthington against Willmar, Rochester against Duluth, we must
work together as a region. And we must continue our success of
public-private partnerships - getting the most leverage out of limited
dollars.
Thanks for hearing me out. Skip Humphrey ( humphrey@humphrey98.org )
