Senator Scott Details Plan for the Future of Small Businesses and the American Economy at Punchbowl Event

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) joined Punchbowl’s Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman for a fireside chat detailing his plans to restore the nation’s economy and increase economic freedom. Their discussion covered how to strengthen and develop the workforce, the future of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the success of Senator Scott’s Opportunity Zones initiative, and more.

Click here to watch the full discussion.

Excerpts from Senator Scott’s remarks can be found below:

On strengthening and developing the workforce…
“If you just start with the net effect of having a job: your life is better; your community gets better; your family is better. And [when] you look at what the hurdles are for business owners you say, ‘I’m going to take a calculated chance, not a risk, but a calculated chance on hiring someone without the skills to do the job well.’ If we can lower the hurdles, i.e., the cost of hiring that person, then the more the more likely the employer is to bring more people into the workforce.”

“If we’re going to help people get better jobs, [we have] to focus on our K through 12 education system. The truth of the matter is, the closest thing to magic in America is a good education. And unfortunately, today, communities [that are] the poorest communities, whether it’s the inner city, like Chicago or a rural part of Iowa; those kids today are less educated than they need to be to meet the needs of our very, very diverse workforce. And so, what we need to do is make sure that we’re focusing our attention on K through 12 education and providing parents with a choice [so] that the kid has a better chance to succeed.”

On extending the TCJA tax incentives…
“Whether you look at this proposal or, at least, his comments around exempting tips from taxation or overtime from taxation or Social Security from taxation; all these issues really calibrate our focus on everyday working Americans and looking for ways to make sure that we’re taking in the consideration the folks who are struggling paycheck to paycheck and looking for ways to meet the moment.”

On Opportunity Zones…
“But specifically, you create more working class jobs. And without doing that, you’re actually going to starve the bottom of the food chain economically. Where I grew up in that, that’s a terrible concept, because some of the most talented people that I know lived in neighborhoods that I lived in, but never had access to opportunity. And so focusing on how to bring opportunities back to those neighborhoods as we did through my Opportunity Zone legislation, is incredibly important.”

“[My Opportunity Zone legislation] brought over $84 billion into the poorest communities; majority minority communities that have seen 8% wage growth, 60% increase in the property values. And about 70% of the people believe it was owning their own property, which means only less than a 5% gentrification rate. So, we were able to make people’s lives better, make communities stronger, and attract more jobs for folks who can’t really afford the transportation to get to them.”

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