Candidate for
State Senator; Pennsylvania State Senate; District 49

Creating An Economic Climate For Job Creation To Sow The Seeds Of Progress

Janet Anderson has spent her entire career working with businesses to create jobs right here in our community. Now she wants to put that experience and independence to work for the people of Erie County.

With 26 years of economic development experience, Janet knows what it takes to create jobs and will use her experience to create a climate for economic development.

Janet knows the first step to creating that climate has to do with how we tax our businesses here in Pennsylvania. That is why Janet supports a comprehensive plan to reform our tax code, including lowering the Corporate Net Income Tax, which is among the highest in the nation, and continuing the plan to phase out the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax.

Lowering taxes isn't enough. Janet will also fight to reduce red tape and regulations that often hamper business and cost our state tens of thousands of jobs. Janet will fight to make sure regulations have sunset dates, so that we can review the regulation for effectiveness and perform a cost/benefit analysis. She will also work to make sure the people interpreting the regulations are there to help rather than punish. We need a government that works with our job creators, not against them.

Right-Size State Government

State government spending is out of control. In the last decade, our state budget has grown more than 40%, outpacing the rate of inflation. Our debt has also increased faster than at any time in the Commonwealth's history. These two trends are unsustainable, and Janet Anderson is going to fight to right-size state government.

Janet believes that our budget should reflect our priorities. That's why she is going to be a strong advocate to fund education, transportation, workforce development and other core government services while reducing wasteful spending and fraud.

Strengthen Education

Janet is a proud product of public schools, and she will go to Harrisburg to protect our investments in education. Janet believes that in order to have the type of workforce we need to compete, we need to invest in basic and higher education. At the same time, we must reform our schools to make sure every child gets a quality education, and that parents have options to ensure their children get the education they need to be successful. We need to find creative ways to develop a pipeline of employees for the unfilled jobs businesses have. For example, programs could be implemented that offer young adults the opportunity to enter the workforce with the ability to have their higher education paid for or subsidized to aid with the cost of higher education.

Infrastructure Improvements

Businesses rely on infrastructure to reach the world, whether it is via broadband, highways, airports, ports, or rail services in order to remain competitive in their industry. We need to put forth a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate our structural deficient bridges, our roads, and other infrastructure needs.

Workforce Development

People are looking for work while at the same time businesses are not able to find the "right" employees. There is a mismatch between the supply and demand. We need to fix this so that employers don't leave the Commonwealth to find a workforce.

Reform Harrisburg

Janet will fight to reform Harrisburg, including voting against efforts to raise salaries or pensions. Janet will also work to solve the pension crisis at the state level, working to move PA to a more taxpayer friendly model, including a 401k-like plan that moves from defined benefits to defined contributions. State Government must lead by example when it comes to pension reform. Harrisburg can't ask taxpayers to continue to sacrifice while Harrisburg continues to protect perks.

Put Erie First

During the last 26 years in the public and private sector, Janet has put partisan politics aside to do what was best for our community. She has worked with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to create jobs and grow our local economy, and that is exactly what she will do as our State Senator.