ECONOMY & JOB CREATION

As a small businessman I have a vested interest in getting this economy back on track. I can tell you that buzz lines, catch phrases, and politics as usual aren't going to cut it anymore. I''s time for results.

I've been working my entire life. From the age of six, my father, a bricklayer, had me out with him on the job every Saturday and each summer vacation. I grew up the son of a small businessman & masonry contractor. Today, my family owns and operates a small business that manufactures mortars, plasters, and paints for historic preservation and ecologically friendly construction. It is well known that this economic crisis was not created by the small businesses, yet the small businesses, like ours, are the ones that struggle to survive, and feel the squeeze the hardest.

Unlike some politicians, I know that people are on unemployment because we are in the midst of an economic crisis, not because they're lazy. I know this because I've had to tell folks that work has dried up, and I'll have to "let them know" when something comes up. As a small businessman I know what would make life easier for people like us that are just trying to survive while keeping our men and women at work. With your help, we can create a "Main Street of Tomorrow Tax Credit", to help those who are creating new small businesses, new jobs, and new opportunities in their communities during these difficult economic times, without bankrupting the Commonwealth. I know a little help could have meant a big difference to us starting out. We can also work to help existing businesses that are struggling to make ends meet and keep folks working with tax credits to help buy equipment, make capital investments, and any business that creates a single job in the commonwealth.

It's going to be the small businesses of the Commonwealth that are going to create the sustainable jobs of the future. It's going to be the small businesses that bring Virginia out of this economic crisis, and its going to be the small businesses that ensure economic growth and prosperity for generations to come. With your help, I'll go to work for small businesses here at home.

It's time to go to work.