Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick, 66th Assembly District, comments on the new NYS Jobs Initiative announced on Wednesday, July 20, 2011. “One stop shopping for these grants and incentives is a fabulous idea, especially for small business and entrepreneurial start-ups that don't have their own development staff,” declared Glick.

“At a time when the middle and working classes are buffeted by a lack of well paying jobs, we should ensure that jobs created under this new program will be jobs with companies that make a commitment to our communities and are more likely to stay within our state and pay a sustaining wage. We need to look at the pay scale at companies seeking tax credits or grants under this program,” Glick stated.

“CEO compensation is an excellent gauge on which to focus. In a state which leads the nation in wealth disparity, we need to ensure that funds go to businesses that have a healthy ratio of CEO pay and worker salaries. Taxpayers find it difficult to support outrageous compensation for upper management when the average taxpayer is having a hard time holding on to their house and keeping up with their bills in this continuing economic downturn,” Glick affirmed.

Glick's legislation, A.3503, would limit CEO compensation to 25 times the amount of the salary of the lowest paid worker. “It's very hard to find companies that in some way have no direct government help, either through favored tax policies or through contracts that have clearly cost the taxpayers money. We need to get serious about the obligations of companies that receive government help. We all want business to succeed and to grow jobs. We just need to make recipients of government assistance mindful that assistance comes with obligations to their workers and the community and the state. Shared assistance and shared responsibility should be the motto of the Empire State,” concluded Glick.