The people of Kentucky deserve to have leaders they can trust to put their interests and the interests of Kentucky first. I believe that in order to realize economic growth in our state and create jobs, we must invest in our people. That means investing in our schools so our kids can compete in the future. That means making sure Kentuckians have the jobs, the skills and the incentives they need to stay here in Kentucky. And it means paying for these investments without raising taxes on the hard-working people of our state.

Creating jobs and economic growth will be my number one priority as governor. Achieving that and getting Kentucky moving will require shaking things up. It will require doing things differently. It's time we take care of our own, for a change, and put the people of Kentucky first. Here's my plan for doing that.

Keep Kentucky Dollars in Kentucky

As most people know at this point, I have taken the lead in this governor's race in calling for expanded gaming in Kentucky. Why have I done that?

Governor Ernie Fletcher is gambling with our future by making expensive election-year promises. So are most of my opponents. I have a different plan: Let's pay for our promises. I'm the only candidate who has proposed how Kentucky can pay for the progress we all want: We should allow expanded gaming in order to generate the revenues we need. Governor Fletcher, and the other politicians who want his job, need to be held to the same standard of leadership. We need a governor who will bet on Kentucky's future, and make our people the winners.

Meanwhile, gaming operations at racetracks in other states have enticed many Kentucky patrons, causing our Kentucky tracks to lose significant revenue. Kentucky dollars continue to pave Illinois roads, educate the children of Indiana and care for seniors in West Virginia. Very simply: It's time that Kentucky dollars went to help solve Kentucky problems.

It is estimated that if Kentucky allowed expanded gaming within the state it would generate millions in new revenues.

If that money now being spent by Kentuckians out of state were instead spent here on the entertainment provided by expanded gaming, studies indicate that it would produce almost five hundred million dollars a year, each and every year, in new tax revenue for our state - five hundred million dollars each year to be spent on the education of Kentucky's children, the creation of jobs for Kentuckians, the provision of better healthcare for our people and to build and pave Kentucky's roads.

Allowing expanded gaming in Kentucky will give us the additional revenue needed for Kentucky to make a giant leap forward in these areas and make a significant difference in the lives of every Kentucky citizen.

Build Kentucky's Economy by Investing in Kentucky's Own Businesses and People

Under Governor Fletcher, Kentucky has lost 1,400 manufacturing jobs just since 2005, remaining stuck at the bottom in per capita personal income, 42nd among the states. We're 42nd in high-tech jobs, 33rd in the number of fastest growing companies, and 39th in industry investment in research and development. Kentucky lost out on economic opportunities like the billion-dollar coal cogeneration plant.

In today's global economy, we're not just competing with Indiana - we're competing with India. We must build a true Kentucky-based economic development vision. That means identifying Kentucky's areas of economic strength and drafting strategies to create, grow, attract and retain businesses and high wage jobs in those key industries:

Energy. Combined, our home grown crops and abundant coal reserves can make Kentucky the first state to declare energy independence from the sheiks and dictators who currently supply our oil. As one of the nation's three largest producers of coal, we should be at the forefront of exploring and promoting clean coal technologies. More than half of the nation's electricity comes from coal-fired utilities, but new clean coal technologies are available that will dramatically reduce the amount of pollution caused by generating electricity from coal. We must lead the way with requirements for new clean coal-fired electric generating plants and a commitment from the state to purchase power produced in these plants. We can help create new markets for coal through expanded investment in gasification and liquefaction, by offering contracts to buy these products to power the state's fleet of vehicles - which will allow investors to obtain long-term financing for coal to liquid fuels plants and guarantee the state a cost-competitive price on fuels for its fleet. We also need to use the state fleet to purchase Kentucky-made hybrid vehicles that burn ethanol as well as gasoline. In fact, there is no reason Kentucky should not become a national leader in the production of biofuels like cellulosic ethanol. We just need to invest in and encourage the renewable energy research that will unleash Kentucky's home-grown resources.

Manufacturing. Kentucky has a strong traditional manufacturing base, like our automobile plants, that must be protected and nurtured. Manufacturing provides high wages and strong career ladders; even in a knowledge-based economy, manufacturing remains important in providing the products such as computers and digital displays that drive that economy. We must expand into the more technologically savvy, higher-end manufacturing jobs of the future. History shows that manufacturing jobs tend to spin off in the regions where the intellectual innovations first occur. That's why I will invest in keeping Kentucky a leader in the energy sources of the future. In addition, Kentucky surgeons pioneered the use of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart, and the latest generation - the Abicor artificial heart - which has just been approved by the FDA for permanent implantation. The two scientists who conducted the original research for the newly approved cervical cancer vaccine are now based in Kentucky. With our strengths in biomedicine and our strong manufacturing workforce, Kentucky can position itself at the forefront of the medical device manufacturing industry.

Rural Industries. Our state has a rich agricultural heritage, and some of the best farmland around. In addition to maintaining our agricultural base, we must continue to expand value-added agriculture efforts: For instance, barely one-third of our forest industry shipped products were value-added last year. Our beautiful landscapes provide additional possibilities: Our premier state park system is regarded as one of the best in the nation and we have the most state resort parks of any other state offering visitors and residents ample access to biking, hiking, camping, golfing, fishing, off-roading, horseback riding, boating and swimming activities - Kentucky could be a national and world leader in adventure tourism.

At the same time, we also must help rural communities transition to new economic opportunities. With today's technology, an array of new manufacturing and service facilities can flourish in more rural areas. There's a role for our energy-of-the-future initiative here, too: Our abundant cattle, poultry and hog farms can be a source of manure, which produces energy while also making our environment cleaner. Farms can be ideal locations for selling their grains and other agricultural products to ethanol or biodiesel refiners, and for feeding their farm animals the leftover, highly nutritious feedstock produced when ethanol is refined.

Future-Growth Service Industries. We must focus on areas where we already have a foothold and competitive advantage - and which can provide good jobs in expanding numbers, such as logistics, supply-chain management and shipping. With its central location, and easy transportation access by river, road, rail and air, Kentucky has always been and remains a natural location for shipping and distribution - and in recent years we have added jobs and academic centers to form a high-wage, growth industry cluster. We need to expand this industry throughout our state. Kentucky's location also makes it a logical choice for the growing demand for back-up operations and data warehousing for the banking and finance industries. The 9-11 attacks made it clear that financial and other important centers need to disperse their operations and develop "redundant" capacity that could survive any future such attacks and continue to keep the nation's - and the world's - economy operating; Kentucky has a great quality of life, ease of access, competitive costs, and the perfect location. Kentucky also is poised to become a leader in e-health through the Kentucky Health Information Partnership. My running mate Dan Mongiardo has championed this issue for years, and our Administration will expand this industry to create good jobs as well as better health care in our state.

To build this Kentucky-Based Economy, we need to do two things:

1. Invest in Kentucky-Based Businesses. For too long, economic development efforts have focused on recruiting businesses to Kentucky from elsewhere, by offering them incentives and subsidies at the expense of those taxpayers and businesses already in Kentucky. Nearly two decades ago, in 1986, the Kentucky Tomorrow Commission took an in-depth look at how we could improve the economy of Kentucky and create a better tomorrow for all. The Commission concluded, "[E]conomic initiatives born of Kentucky know-how and Kentucky talent must be the foundation of our future economy…. Policies geared toward the recruitment of industries and branch plants from outside the state will not meet Kentucky's long-term job needs." I ought to know: I chaired the Commission. We were right then - and that's still right, now. We need a governor who understands that Kentucky's economic growth will come from Kentucky-based businesses.

And those businesses are mostly small businesses. They not only employ over half of all working Kentuckians, but they also provide the innovation and drive that will move the state forward. I will focus Kentucky's economic development strategy on incentives that really reward companies that produce good jobs with benefits - instead of when they don't - and on starting and expanding businesses here in Kentucky, instead of subsidizing business from elsewhere who promise to move here one day and can just as easily move away the next. As Governor, I will promote economic growth in Kentucky by:

• Creating an Office of Small Business Development whose sole mission will be to help create, grow and expand small businesses. State government and small businesses should be active partners.

• Providing capital for start-ups and small businesses through Individual Development Accounts, a micro-lending fund to make capital available to businesses that do not have access to the traditional commercial banking sector, and a Kentucky Technology Development Corporation modeled on a successful program in technology-driven Massachusetts with greater resources than typical angel investors but smaller than most venture capital funds.
• Reducing taxes on limited partnership venture capital fund profits - provided the fund's primary place of business is Kentucky and the profits are from investments in approved target industries.
• Increasing Kentucky's venture capital tax credit to 50 percent of the investment from the 40 percent it is currently.
• Reducing unnecessary paperwork and streamlining the process for economic incentives.
• Expanding business incubator programs that provide support and services that accelerate the successful development of start-up and fledgling companies by providing entrepreneurs with an array of targeted resources and services.
• Expanding technology transfer and commercialization programs to move innovations from Kentucky colleges and universities into the marketplace.
• Investing in technology infrastructure in rural communities, such as broadband Internet access, wireless broadband technologies and statewide cellular coverage that will enable small businesses to sell their products on the world market.

2. Invest in Kentucky's People. Whatever else we do, one thing stands out as imperative in moving our economy forward: We must first invest more in our human capital. The jobs of the future all require more advanced skills and sophisticated training. But under the Fletcher Administration, Kentucky ranks 47th in workforce education. How can we turn that around?

• A comprehensive assessment of the alignment between high school curricula and career requirements to ensure that our kids are being prepared to meet our future workforce needs.

• Improved Career and Technical Education. We need to replace old-style high school "vocational education" programs with a rigorous Career and Technical Education system that prepares all our young people for good, high-paying jobs as soon as they graduate.
• A strengthened career certificate program. We need to go beyond the current Kentucky Employment Certificate (KEC), which confirms to employers that an individual possesses basic skills in reading, math and finding information, with a "KEC-Plus" providing assessments in more skill areas, on-site support where people work, eligibility for fast-track training opportunities to develop specialized skills, and benefits for businesses when they interview and hire KEC-Plus certified workers.
• Increased credentialing of prior learning, including credit awarded for competency-based work experience and non-credit occupational training - such as learning received in the military, on the job, through non-credit training and education using appropriately rigorous competency testing.
• More Industry Partnerships, whereby employers can collaborate on building career pathways for industry employees and share training costs to increase workforce competitiveness.

Keep Kentucky's Kids in School - and in Kentucky

Our future depends upon educating all our kids to compete for the best jobs - so that we can bring those jobs here to Kentucky, and keep our children here in the future. All Kentuckians growing up today need schools that will give them the foundation they need for tomorrow's jobs - starting in pre-school, and continuing as far as their abilities allow them to go - right here in Kentucky.

Kentucky has a good public school system, improved dramatically with the passage of KERA in 1990. But under the Fletcher Administration, our high school dropout rate is actually rising. We need more kids graduating from high school, and with higher skill sets and more sophisticated levels of learning. We need a new Governor - one who will:

• Expand pre-kindergarten programs to every Kentucky 3- and 4-year-old.

• Make every dollar count through a comprehensive education review updating or revamping programs and technologies that need changing and eliminating those that are redundant or ineffective.
• Focus on classroom safety and discipline so that our students can learn and our teachers can teach.
• Redesign high schools. The senior year of high school is no longer used effectively by most public schools. Virginia succeeded in making major changes in high schools. So must Kentucky. To better prepare our students, we must provide more opportunities to take advanced placement courses, enhance education standards and develop early student interventions.
• Create "schools within schools." Kids learn better in smaller schools and smaller classrooms. We must assist larger schools to convert into smaller "schools within schools".
• Use technology to broaden and expand educational opportunities through increased distance learning. We can leverage our limited teaching resources to make more course offerings available to more students all across the Commonwealth.

We also need a well-funded college and university system and a greater number of those college graduates that stay here in Kentucky. Just as we cannot afford an uneducated workforce, we are equally handicapped if those we do educate leave the Commonwealth. But right now, Kentucky ranks 47th in college degrees, ahead of only Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia. As Governor, I will:

• Invest more in our educational institutions. The underlying problem in college affordability is that colleges cost too much because we've been underfunding them. We need to fully fund our colleges and universities, including full funding of the "Bucks for Brains" program.

• Enable more kids to go to college - and stay in Kentucky. We need to supplement the existing lottery scholarship programs by creating Kentucky First Scholarships, a grant in the form of a forgivable loan for tuition each year, with the student required to spend one year working in Kentucky post-graduation for each year of tuition he or she receives.
• Expand Dual Credit Options, in which high school juniors and seniors take courses at community colleges for which they earn both high school and college credit, and Advanced Placement programs, in which students study and are tested in college-level coursework. This could save students and their families significantly in reduced college tuition costs.

Wanted: Kentucky Experience

What Kentucky needs most is not just great ideas and bold vision - but Leadership that can take sound proposals and turn them into reality. Leadership that can bring people together in shared purpose. Leadership that demonstrates maturity of judgment, soundness of experience, and the courage to do what is right instead of what is politically expedient. I demonstrated twenty years ago that I could do that; my proposals in this campaign weren't born yesterday, any more than I was. They come from many years of experience in both the public and private sectors - years that have validated these approaches.

And, ultimately, that's the difference in this campaign..