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State of the State, continued

And just as importantly, I’ve seen how the IEN is becoming a true community and economic development resource.

For example, Superintendent Jim Reid and Principal Dave Davies in Weiser opened up the high school’s IEN connection to the local Chamber of Commerce, which arranged for Idaho State University’s Workforce Training department to provide marketing and management training for local businesses.

Schools also are using the network to offer master’s degree programs, POST Academy training, firefighter and paramedic training, and professional development courses for teachers.

A growing number of school districts are embracing the opportunities.

In Idaho Falls, the Bonneville School District is generating revenue and improving the educational experience for students by creating an e-Center and a Virtual Academy.

The Vallivue School District in Caldwell also is rolling out a virtual school option for students, and several other districts are heading that direction.

Superintendent Luna and I will use the IEN at 3 p.m. today – right across the street at the Department of Education – to answer questions from reporters across the state about today’s address and our education initiatives. And Superintendent Luna will lay out all the details of our proposals this coming Wednesday.

While the Idaho Education Network and online education are making great strides, our efforts to provide more affordable higher education options are paying off.

The College of Western Idaho is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the nation.

CWI and President Bert Glandon are responding to Idaho employers’ needs with an emphasis on workforce training.
It’s a tremendous resource, and I appreciate your continuing support for its growth.

Speaking of growth, I’d like to take just a minute now to begin engaging all Idahoans more directly in our Project 60 campaign – since it’s all about growth, and it affects us all.

The fact is that our economy is starting to grow again, but overall employment isn’t. The stock market is almost fully restored, but investors remain skittish. Our banks generally are sound, but many are afraid to lend. Interest rates are at historic lows, but it’s tough to get new credit.

Some corporate earnings are at their highest levels in 60 years. Exports are recovering and approaching record levels.
But none of this has shaken a generally pessimistic economic outlook.

The reason is unemployment. How many of you in this chamber know someone who’s out of work? Now, how many of you have a family member who’s unemployed? Unfortunately, until the jobless numbers begin falling, the perception that our economy is stuck in a rut will continue. We all know that raising taxes and spending more on government jobs or so-called “stimulus” programs isn’t the answer. So what can we do about it?

For one thing, we must use our bully pulpit to encourage those who can help to take a chance on our state’s future – to pay it forward by embracing those less fortunate among us.

Just as our Project 60 Partners are working with us to create and sustain the right business climate in Idaho, the time is now for our citizens and businesses to show confidence in our communities, our neighbors, and ultimately in ourselves.

Think what it could mean if every one of our 55,000 or so Idaho businesses would hire just one more person.

Think what it could mean if every one of our citizens who saw a neighbor struggling to make ends meet would reach out to help in any way they can.

Of course not everyone is in a position to help.

For businesses, economic and financial uncertainty caused in large part by misguided federal programs and policies are undermining confidence in the marketplace.

Employers have no idea what it will cost them to comply with new health care mandates. I understand their hesitation. But that’s stifling employment growth. But there are plenty of examples out there of courageous and forward-looking business investments in Idaho’s future – examples that we should celebrate. For instance:

In Nampa, Mission Aviation Fellowship, which moved from California several years ago, now has 138 employees and 134 aircraft involved in Christian relief work in more than 52 countries around the world.
In Payette, Teton Manufacturing has more than enough work to hire at least four new machinists
In Moscow, Biketronics is looking at sales increases that should enable it to expand and hire staff for a planned business incubator
In Caldwell, Kit Manufacturing could be in a position to double its workforce in the coming year.
Fry Foods in Weiser is continuing to hire for its growing food processing business.
And here in Boise, Colliers Idaho is bullish enough on our economy that it’s hiring in preparation for
a strengthening real estate market. We must recognize that we will all share in Idaho’s renewed prosperity if we work together – that’s the essence of Project 60. For our part, beyond making State government more efficient and effective, we must continue rewarding those private sector investments that grow our economy by providing appropriate and carefully crafted tax incentives for job creation.

Unfortunately, our lingering jobless rate will pose a serious problem for Idaho employers in the years ahead unless we act now.

Like those in 35 other states, Idaho’s Unemployment Trust Fund ran out of money because the recession was deeper and longer than those who designed the new benefits system in 2005 ever expected.

As a result, we had to borrow over $200 million from the federal government to keep paying repeatedly extended unemployment benefits in 2009 and 2010.

But we do have a plan to eliminate the need to increase Idaho’s Unemployment Insurance rates and stabilize the trust fund. It calls for issuing bonds to repay the entire amount we borrowed and redeeming those bonds over four years.

It also involves raising the target balance in the trust fund formula to avoid borrowing in the future. And that’s important, because while we’ve been able to borrow money for unemployment benefits interest- free for the past two years, we’ll have to pay more than $9 million in interest this year alone – and much more in the following years. But our plan will save Idaho employers an estimated $110 million over the next three years.

My thanks go to Labor Director Roger Madsen for thinking outside the bureaucratic box on that issue.

Unfortunately, there is no bonding option or any other viable way to avoid many of the exorbitant costs being imposed on us by Obamacare.

We got some great news recently when a federal judge in Virginia agreed with the position we and 21 other states have taken that forcing citizens to buy health coverage or face financial penalties is unconstitutional.

As you know, our specific case is before a different federal judge in Florida. But Attorney General Wasden believes the Virginia ruling has the potential to be persuasive in our case as well. We’re watching that closely.

We also are working closely with Idaho’s outstanding congressional delegation to fix or repeal Obamacare before it does serious damage to State efforts to make health care more accessible and affordable.

We are actively exploring all our options – including nullification. But at the same time, we are responsibly preparing for watershed changes that may be on the way. And we are pursuing our own priorities. In September, I issued an Executive Order convening a Medical Home Collaborative to pilot a coordinated managed-care initiative aimed at controlling health care costs.

Our focus on accessibility and affordability also advanced last month with my creation of the Idaho Health Care Council. Health and Welfare Director Dick Armstrong and Insurance Director Bill Deal are leading this effort to
coordinate local and federal health care policies, working closely with our private sector partners. Building partnerships.

Fostering more cooperation between the public and private sectors. Doing more with less. All that is part of what must be a cultural change in our policies and our programs throughout State government – a change in how we set our priorities and how we approach challenges. It’s taking place at Health and Welfare and the Department of Correction. It’s taking place at Transportation and Labor and Administration and all the other State agencies. But that’s not enough.

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