December
2002
Trenton
Speaks: Revitalizing New Jersey's urban areas: Investing in people,
not government
By Senator Joe Kyrillos, New Jersey Republican State Chairman
Throughout
history, New Jersey's urban areas have served as the core of our
state's economic and cultural activity. During these sluggish
fiscal times, government must focus on the revitalization of our
cities as the epicenter of our state's economic development.
Encouraging
job growth and improving education are two of the most important
components in enhancing the quality of life in our urban centers,
and Republicans in New Jersey and Washington have sponsored several
important initiatives toward that end.
First
and foremost, the key to any strong community is jobs. When people
have the ability to provide a decent living for themselves and
their families, their quality of life naturally improves. When
the economy is strong and people are working, social problems
such as crime, drugs and gang violence, consequentially decline.
Republicans
in New Jersey have recognized the need to create jobs-we have
created over half a million new ones since 1994-as well as the
need to encourage businesses to make long-term investments in
our cities. In the past decade, we have developed several important
initiatives to encourage companies to locate in our urban areas.
Two important examples include the expansion of the successful
Urban Enterprise Zones program, which provides tax incentives
and other benefits to businesses located in economically distressed
cities, and the Brownfield Economic Redevelopment Initiative,
which encourages companies to redevelop abandoned properties in
our cities.
By providing greater incentives and fewer taxes and regulations,
Republicans have nurtured economic growth instead of hindering
it with onerous bureaucracy. A growing business community has
resulted in better paying jobs and a better quality of life for
all New Jerseyans, with a vibrant economy serving as the foundation
for a thriving community.
While
we've made tremendous progress, there is much more that needs
to be done to encourage private investment in our cities. New
Jersey needs to invest in its transportation infrastructure to
improve and expand upon our mass transit system and to reduce
congestion on our overcrowded highways. We also need to provide
new opportunities for small business development-especially among
women and minorities-and stimulate entrepreneurial activities
in our urban core.
Investing in our economy is important, and so is investing in
our people, starting with our children. On the federal level,
President Bush has made an unprecedented commitment to improving
education, and his landmark "No Child Left Behind Act"
goes a long way in ensuring every child has the tools he or she
needs to excel, regardless of family background, race or income
level. For the first time in history, success in our schools will
be measured not by how much money is being spent, but by whether
every child is learning.
Under the President's new reforms, schools will be held accountable
to higher standards of learning, and parents will no longer be
powerless if their child is trapped in a failing school. For the
first time ever, parents of children in persistently failing schools
will have the choice to direct education funds toward a better
public school or toward additional tutoring or after-school programs.
The President's commitment to leave no child behind also includes
a strong emphasis on fundamental reading skills. Sadly, recent
test scores have shown that over 85 percent of all fourth-graders
in high-poverty schools score below the proficient reading level.
Under Republican reforms, New Jersey's urban communities will
benefit from a program called Early Reading First that will help
develop language and reading skills for our preschool children,
especially those from low-income families.
Every child should have the opportunity to succeed, and by holding
every school accountable for its performance, we can eliminate
the achievement gap between our urban and suburban schools. We
have learned time and time again that spending more money does
not guarantee success, and we must spend our taxpayer dollars
wisely by funding teaching methods that are scientifically proven
to work.
Republicans
believe that investing in people, not government, is the key to
success. That is why here in New Jersey, we have created a Faith-based
and Community Initiative to give our houses of worships the resources
they need to develop and implement strategic improvement plans
for their neighborhoods. The faith community is on the front lines
in the fight against drugs, poverty, unemployment and crime, and
many of these institutions have become catalysts for economic
revitalization in depressed neighborhoods. Republicans in New
Jersey and Washington believe government should support these
community efforts, not undermine them.
Government
cannot solve every problem facing New Jersey's urban communities,
but we can empower people and provide them with the tools they
need to make a decent living, receive a quality education, and
raise their family in a safe environment. The Republican Party
is committed to revitalizing our urban areas and improving the
lives of all New Jerseyans by investing in people and providing
them with new opportunities to succeed.
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