Jay Nixon Continues Missouri Main Street Tour in Downtown Branson

BRANSON, MO -- Attorney General Jay Nixon today continued his Missouri Main Street tour, listening to the concerns of regular Missourians and small-business owners during these tough economic times.  Today, the Attorney General toured small businesses in downtown Branson, Mo., where he discussed local economic issues with business owners, community leaders and residents.

"Growing up in a small town, I know how important small businesses and a vibrant Main Street are to our local economies," Attorney General Nixon said.  "But today, we're moving in the wrong direction, and Main Streets across our state are hurting.  Our economy is heading backwards, jobs are disappearing and everyone’s feeling the squeeze.  We need to turn this economy around, and it starts by supporting small businesses on Main Streets across Missouri."     

A native of De Soto, Mo., a small town of roughly 6,000 residents, Jay Nixon understands the devastating impact that a slow economy can have on everyday folks. 

Today in downtown Branson, Attorney General Nixon toured local businesses with Jim Asbury, realtor with ERA/Table Rock Realty and president of the Missouri Association of Realtors; Dawn Erickson, Executive Director of the Downtown Branson Main Street Association; and other local businesspeople.

Although the primary purpose of the Missouri Main Street tour is to listen to the concerns of regular Missourians, Attorney General Nixon has recently put forward several key initiatives to help the most vulnerable Missourians during these tough economic times.

In January, Attorney General Nixon outlined his plan to provide property tax relief to more than 65,000 Missouri seniors and families struggling to keep their homes.  Specifically, he proposed eliminating an unfair marriage penalty and expanding the Missouri Property Tax Credit Program (also known as the Circuit Breaker.)  Read more on Nixon’s property tax relief proposal: http://www.jaynixon.com/news/press_releases?id=0074

Attorney General Nixon has repeatedly called on the Missouri legislature to pass legislation to reform the payday loan industry, which currently takes advantage of thousands of low-income Missourians a year.   Missouri has some of the most lenient payday loan laws in the nation, which allow lenders to charge Missouri families up to 1,950 percent APR (with an average charge of 422 percent).  Nixon has proposed capping the APR at 36 percent and outlawing the harmful practice of renewing loans -- a practice prohibited by every bordering state.  Renewable payday loans punish families unable to make payments by charging them astronomical interest rates to extend the period by which they can repay the loan.  Read more about the Attorney General’s payday loan reform proposal: http://www.jaynixon.com/news/press_releases?id=0051

Additional Background Information About Missouri's Downward Economy:

Missouri's Unemployment Rate Increased To 5.5% - Higher Than The National Average.  In December, Missouri's unemployment rate rose to 5.5 %.  The national unemployment rate was 5.0% for this time period.  Since the beginning of 2007, Missouri's unemployment rate rose by .7%.  The unemployment rate in Missouri stayed steady during the month of January. [Analysis of Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Release, 1/18/2008 and 3/18/2008]

Missouri's Ranked 18th In Foreclosures In February.  Missouri had the 18th highest foreclosure rate in February, according to RealtyTrac's February foreclosure activity report. This represents a 3.27% increase since January of 2008 and a 47.12% increase since February of 2007.  [Press Release, RealtyTrac, 3/13/2008; http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=4284&accnt=64847 ]

If Missouri Had Grown At The National Average, 38,102 More Missourians Would Have Jobs Today.  If Missouri had grown at the average growth rate of the rest of the country between January 2005 and December 2007, during this time period, 38,102 more Missourians would have jobs today. [Analysis of Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Release, 1/18/2008]

Missouri Has Lost More Than 16,000 Manufacturing Jobs Since Last Year.  According to recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Missouri has lost 16,700 manufacturing jobs since Matt Blunt took office in January of 2005.  [Analysis of Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Release, 1/18/2008]

Blunt's Health Care Cuts Have Cost Missouri Jobs.  According to a recent editorial in the Kansas City Star, "The proposals won't restore the 2005 Medicaid cuts affecting 400,000 people that cost the state $700 million over two years in federal matching funds. Loss of federal money cost the state at least $1.4 billion in economic activity, including 20,000 new health-care jobs, one economist says." [Kansas City Star, 5/13/2007]

Missouri Ranked Behind All But One Bordering State In Annual Wage Growth.  In 2007, Missourians' paychecks grew more slowly than all but one bordering state, as Missouri ranked 32nd in annual average pay growth.  [CFED, 1/04/2008]

Missouri's "New Economy" Has Been On A Steep Decline.  In 2002, Missouri ranked 28 out of the 50 states in the New Economy Index.  In 2007, Missouri's rankings had slipped from 28 to 35.  The New Economy Index used multiple indicators to rate how states are structured according to the tenets of the New Economy.  This represents one of the steepest declines in the nation.  Meanwhile other Midwest states are making progress.  Illinois, for example, has improved its rankings from 19 in 2002 to 16 in 2007.  [Information Technology and Innovation Foundation: New Economy Index, 2007; http://www.itif.org/files/2007_State_New_Economy_Index.pdf ]