“Wait and See” Isn’t a Valid Job Growth Strategy for Elected Leaders

Business leaders in the private sector don’t sit around to wait and see if jobs will just “appear” in their industries. What they do is look for ways to create new jobs. They get creative, they try new ideas and they take some risks. Why? Because they want to produce more revenue and profits for their companies, right?

So why is our President sitting around and waiting for jobs to happen? Pointing his finger at others and saying “it is the economy” as a verbal shrug. Correct me if I am wrong, Save Jerseyans, but isn’t he is the leader of the US economy!? Could you imagine Bill Gates sitting around, just crossing his fingers and hoping that new Microsoft jobs will materialize, or do you thing he is out there proactively looking for innovative ways to grow his company? And when have jobs never been a priority for this country?

When Barack Obama took office, unemployment was 5% and in two years hit 10%. Wouldn’t that have been a signal to President Obama to shift all attention to job creation instead of the implementation of new social experiments like healthcare reform? Dropping to the side any projects that would distract from his focus on the #1 priority, jobs?

Well he didn’t, and now our unemployment level is at 8.3% as a direct result. So think about this: the leader of our country and the largest economy in the world hasn’t been able to lead us back to even the level of unemployment that existed when he took the oath of office.

“Leaderless” is the best way to describe our nation at the moment.

When I was Mayor of Haddon Heights, we made our local economy a priority by lowering taxes and proactively helping our businesses. We created a local bi-monthly newspaper targeted to our residents where local businesses could advertise for cut rate prices. We launched a “Shop Haddon Heights First” campaign to encourage residents to think about buying in Haddon Heights first before they ventured beyond our community’s borders. The point is that we understood how job creation was important and we recognized our ability to help create jobs by making our town an attractive place for businesses to call home.

Why aren’t jobs now and always a priority for every level of government? Why hasn’t the Democrat-controlled Freeholder board here in Camden County taken this approach? In May 2005, my county’s unemployment rate was 4.4%. As of May 2012, it had risen to 10.3%. That is a 234% increase, making Camden County’s rate worse than the state of New Jersey as a whole and even the entire country.

Camden County’s jobless numbers are equally distressing. Since May 2005, the number of unemployed in Camden County has skyrocketed to 27,699. That’s an increase of 141% in seven years. The unfortunate news is that like the President, the Freeholders of Camden County have a “wait and see” attitude versus taking a proactive approach to lower taxes, attracting and keeping businesses and creating new jobs.

All levels of government need leaders who realize that jobs are — and always will be — a number one priority, and that they can’t simply sit back and wait for jobs to happen but take responsibility for figuring out how to create them. Purely reactionary “leaders” at the local and national level need to be replaced so that those who are unemployed can regain their own.

 

Scott Alexander
About Scott Alexander 22 Articles
Scott Alexander is the former Republican mayor of the Camden County municipality of Haddon Heights.

5 Comments

  1. You are the BIGGEST HYPOCRITE !

    As mayor of Haddon Heights, you layed off 8 of your DPW workers and hired "day laborers" in their place. The majority of the day laborers, or so called "temps" are Mexican.

    You brag about how you eliminated 30% of the Borough's full time employees so to not have to pay health insurance.

    You brag about your "shop Haddon Heights first" initiative, yet you erected a huge banner in the center of town promoting your "personal fitness gym" which happens to be in Barrington!

    Your nothing but a self promoting chameleon, and you can't have it both ways!

  2. When you were mayor of Haddon Heights municipal taxes went up every year on average of 3%, the ONLY reason you were able to lower taxes was because the neighboring feeder town to the high school had to repay close to $1 Million back to the district that was then in turn returned to the taxpayers. Until you were called on the point you tried to take the credit of a zero tax increase for 2 consecutive years. In your last year in office municipal taxes rose again, the school board despite loosing close to $800,000 in state funding cut items from their budget, and the county reduced their tax levy enabling you to proclaim from the highest mountain and to anyone who would listen. Haddon Heights Mayor lowers taxes for 3rd consecutive year! A press release sent out by former unqualified borough clerk (now no longer in the boroughs employ and in a lawsuit against the borough) included "Based on the new way of running the Borough like a business, there is little reason not to have additional tax reductions in 2012 and beyond". I think the current mayor left with financial accounts bled dry, trust accounts that had money moved without authority. Haddon Heights Resolution 2012:127 http://haddonhts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/7… this is what you called fiscal responsibility and running the town like a business !!

    A soi-disant answer to all of NJ financial woes, writing articles on topics you know nothing about, blogging and tweeting, touting yourself to other municipalities as an expert in how to run a town efficiently. I wonder if they're aware of the debris left in your wake as Mayor of Haddon Heights that is now $2M in debt ?

  3. My focus was lowering taxes by reducing spending. That is the platform I ran on and the reason I got elected. The DPW department was over staffed as has been proven. The President didn't get elected to create Obamacare, he was elected to make sure the economy stayed working. He lost focus and everyone is paying the price.

  4. The fact is that under my leadership municipal taxes went from double digit increases to less than 2% growth in 2009 and 2010, then in 2011 I reduced taxes 6%. Even with losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in State Aid. This is a combined 3 year average of -1.5%.

    The school board did the right thing and gave back $1 million to the residents that they had in their coffers only after I called them out on it. Either way it was a win for Haddon Height's residents.

    Finally, Dave McGee you need to be a real man and identify yourself instead of being a coward behind fake names. You keep repeating your same lies over and over and never provide any facts with the same tone you used at Council meetings. Disrespectful and full of hatred.

    To my point of not having your facts straight, your attachment above is from July 2012 when I wasn't even in office.

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