Economic issues, especially job creation, are dominating the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race, according to both the experts and the polls.
In recognition of the issue's importance to the election, Democrat Ed Rendell and Republican Mike Fisher are focusing heavily on employment issues during the campaign.
"They're talking in precisely the way that the polling data indicates people are concerned," said Frederick Voigt, head of the Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan watchdog group.
In a recent poll conducted by the nonpartisan group IssuesPA, 32 percent of Pennsylvanians surveyed said they are worse off economically today than they were one year ago, compared to 22 percent who said they are better off. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed said the economy is the biggest problem facing the state right now.
Economic issues will be "a vital part of this campaign... that's what people will be voting on this time, I'm sure of it," said IssuesPA pollster Berwood Yost, the director of Millersville University's Center for Opinion Research.
Both Rendell and Fisher have released comprehensive position papers on the topic. They differ on the details of how to improve Pennsylvania's economy, but some of their broad themes are the same -- such as creating a climate conducive to business development.
"Here's the bottom line: both of them are business-friendly," said political analyst Terry Madonna, director of Millersville University's Center for Politics and Public Affairs. "Both of them want to create a favorable job-creation environment."
The differences between the candidates' plans mainly lie in who will do the bulk of the job-creating.
"I think Rendell is more likely to use state government as an engine to create jobs than Fisher," Madonna said. "Fisher is more likely to leave [that] to the private sector."
Indeed, Fisher's six-point economic plan focuses heavily on cutting corporate taxes to convince businesses to set up shop in Pennsylvania. For instance, he wants to reduce Pennsylvania's corporate net income tax, which is currently one of the highest in the country. He is also calling for the creation of "entrepreneur zones" in which businesses are exempted from paying certain taxes for up to 15 years.
"I think that ours is a much more business-friendly approach," Fisher spokesman Kevin Harley said of the plan. "One thing that's stifling business expansion in Pennsylvania is our tax structure."
Fisher is also calling for cuts in state spending and the development of a "world-class workforce" through various educational reforms.
Preventing a major loss of jobs could also be crucial for Fisher, who, as state Attorney General, is dealing with the possible sale of Hershey Foods Corp. by the charitable trust that controls it.
Fisher succeeded last week in winning an injunction against the sale of the Pennsylvania-based company.
Rendell is advocating tax cuts for businesses as well, but not to the same extent as Fisher -- and these tax cuts are not the focus of Rendell's job creation plan.
Instead, Rendell spokesman Dan Fee said his candidate's key concept is "revitalization" of cities and towns, which he intends to carry out at least partially with state money.
"One of the pillars of our campaign is, how do we make communities more attractive for businesses to locate and establish themselves in?" Fee said. "As it is right now, communities, particularly smaller communities, do not have the resources to revitalize. If they don't get the resources now, it's not like they'll get the resources later -- and they'll continue to spiral."
According to Rendell's economic position statement, some of the "revitalizations" he is advocating will use money already in the state budget and some will be funded by bonds. The remaining initiatives would cost the state about $55 million.
"Rendell's plans primarily call for more government borrowing and spending," Harley said.
Rendell does have a significant advantage on the economic issue, according to Yost -- he presided over an era of economic expansion as mayor of Philadelphia from 1991 to 1999, so he may be able to claim that he has the experience to nurse Pennsylvania back to financial health.
"He can say that he was mayor of a struggling city," Yost said.
