By Ilan Graff, UCSM Intern
June 23, 2003

On Monday, June 9th, U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans highlighted the Bush administration's approach to economic security at a time when mayors must cope with cuts in local and state budgets.

At the business/plenary session of the 71st Annual Conference of Mayors, Evans broached the subject of economic downturn, joking that during his twenty'six years in the private sector, he had been "fully cycle tested," and was therefore equipped to meet the challenges of an uncertain economic climate. He proceeded to acknowledge the manifest difficulties of civic governance at a time when the challenges of a sluggish economy have been exacerbated by additional security costs as a consequence of the war on terrorism.

Evans identified a number of sources for the economic slowdown. He said that the recession, the wave of corporate scandals, September 11th, the costs of waging the war on terrorism as well as ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the drop in tourist revenue stemming from fears of terrorist activity, and the decrease in business investment, were culprits for the flagging U.S. economy.

Faced with these impediments to stability, Evans focused on the importance of employment in building a foundation for economic excellence. "People can't achieve the American dream without a job," he proclaimed, "A job is at the strategic center of our civil society." In further outlining the basis of the administration's policy, Secretary Evans underscored the President's opposition to increased taxation as a means of righting the economy, asserting, "No great society has ever taxed its way to prosperity."

The Secretary did bring some good news to mayors desperate for an economic windfall. He highlighted eight reasons why the administration feels that the nation can face its current difficulties from a position of strength and optimism: the rising stock market, increasing consumer confidence, rising home ownership, sound fiscal policy, increased home financing, the low inflation rate, the solidity of the bank system, and a 4.8 percent growth in productivity over the past year, which represents the greatest such increase in five decades.

Evans said that the President's Jobs and Growth plan, designed to improve entrepreneurship, would also increase revenues, as taxpayers, faced with expanded take-home pay would "save, spend, and, yes, invest." He took particular pride in observing that forty'seven percent of the plan's marginal relief would go to small business owners, since, "we all know that that's where the jobs come from."

A risk insurance initiative, designed to guard against economic catastrophe in the wake of a terrorist attack, a $50 million dollar campaign to increase tourism to the United States, and a fifteen percent increase in the Economic Development Administration's funding, were also outlined as the administration's policy bases for future economic success. The Secretary also stressed the importance of performance-based incentives in the awarding of grants to cities by the federal government.

Throughout his address, Evans emphasized the administration's goal of creating one million new jobs by 2004. Mayors are still feeling the effects of what the Bureau of Labors Statistics estimates have been 3.1 million lost private'sector jobs, many of them in metropolitan areas, since January 2001. Absent a shift in policy-makers' reluctance to allocate relief funding directly to cities, this might be the best news they get in the short term.