Nixon Orders Small Business Loans To Kick Start Jobs Plan

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Governor Jay Nixon signs 3 executive orders:

• Directing the state to create a pool of $2 million dollars in low-interest and no-interest direct loans to small businesses.
• Establishing a task force to identify ways the state can best attract fuel-efficient automotive manufacturing jobs, with a report due in 90 days
• Establishing a council to examine how the state can best use money from a potential federal economic stimulus package

Springfield Chamber of Commerce President Jim Anderson said the small business loans will be just one more tool in the box for Nixon to use. "$25,000 is a drop in the bucket, will it make a huge significant difference overnight? Probably not. But frankly, I think you'll see a lot of very small business start-ups be very interested in this," Anderson told The Notebook.

Speaker of the House Ron Richard has said he will use Anderson as part of his "Kitchen Cabinet" sounding board for economic and job growth initiatives, and potentially draft him to sit on a Blue-ribbon commission for economic development.

Richard on Anderson and other local leaders in economic development: "They're the ones that develop all the tax incentives, they're the ones on the ground, they're the ones that go out and compete against other states. I don't dream up this up like I'm some kind of guru. I don't mind stealing a good idea and making it better."

Richard on Nixon: We'll Agree 70% Of The Time
"We're going to work together, get a bill on his desk quickly," Richard said, referring to Nixon's economic proposals.

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Missouri State University Political Science Professor George Connor on why there's so much bipartisanship on the economy:

"Governor Nixon isn't a wildly liberal Democrat. I think he's pragmatic . . . Because Governor Nixon is not as partisan, or as left as perhaps as other Democrats, it's easier for him to work with Republicans on this particular issue. I think, in part, the economy is so bad, it's easier to agree."

PREDICTS THE BUDGET WILL TEST THE TONE:
"I think the first step is to have a bipartisan approach to how big the cuts need to be. The budget will touch ideology and test it. They're going to disagree on the cuts and I think that's where the partisanship is going to come. The bigger the cut, the more pressure he's going to get from special interest groups on the left. I think he's going to get demands from the left, now how well he can respond to them is going to have to do with how big the cuts are."