On October 4, PA Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Luke Bernstein, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne Clark and Executive Vice President Neil Bradley, and thousands of concerned citizens from across Pennsylvania discussed key economic issues during a tele-town hall.
As the Bradford Era noted, Bernstein and the U.S. Chamber leaders answered live questions from callers and highlighted Chamber-supported policies at the state and federal level to support job creators and their workforce.
“The PA Chamber represents businesses of all sizes, in every industry, across Pennsylvania. Yet, rising costs, supply chain issues, and the labor shortage are impacting nearly every business, regardless of size or location. We heard from many Pennsylvanians tonight who told us how inflation is taking away opportunity from their families and leaving them further behind. These concerns, which remain top of mind for Pennsylvanians, underscore the need for policies that will help bring down costs,” Bernstein said.
Callers’ questions focused on how to combat the rising costs of everything from gas to groceries.
Bernstein highlighted the PA Chamber’s efforts to address inflation, including advocating for utilizing Pennsylvania’s vast natural resources to bring down costs, enacting permitting reforms to encourage economic development, and promoting the Commonwealth’s strong educational institutions to address workforce challenges.
“Everyone is feeling the effects of higher prices. To bring costs down and insulate against global markets shifts, we need an all-of-the-above energy strategy,” Bernstein said. “Pennsylvania is home to oil and natural gas, coal, wind, solar, nuclear, and hydroelectric energy. Expanding the use of Pennsylvania’s diverse natural resources, both domestically and abroad, will not only help drive down energy costs, a key driver of inflation, but it will also support good-paying Pennsylvania jobs and cement our state as a global leader in energy production and innovation.”
Bernstein added, “Pennsylvania is home to world-class educational and research institutions. While we need to encourage students to pursue four-year degrees so that we can continue driving innovation, we also need to eliminate the stigma around career and technical education. Students often graduate from these schools with little debt and the training necessary to fill in-demand jobs. A comprehensive workforce strategy will help us address the labor shortage, bridge the skills gap, and encourage our kids and grandkids to stay in Pennsylvania with good paying jobs.”
Bernstein also explained how the Pennsylvania Chamber’s recent success in enacting historic business tax reform will lead to greater investment and growth in Pennsylvania.
“In our most recent state budget, we worked in a bipartisan fashion with Republican majorities in the General Assembly and a Democrat governor, to cut our Corporate Net Income tax in half—from 9.99 percent, the second highest in the nation, to 4.99 percent by 2031,” Bernstein said. “This was the most monumental tax reform in Pennsylvania in three decades and sends a strong signal to companies to invest and grow here.”