Jeb Bush" Florida's field of dreams

From remarks by the Governor of Florida to British American Business Inc, in London yesterday

As governor of Florida, I look over the horizon and try to figure out how to build a climate where investment will occur more often than not, and in our state rather than some other place that is also aspiring for that capital. That sets me apart from some, because generally people who aspire to serve in government think that the government can solve many of the problems.

I much prefer to have government be limited and people's hopes and dreams be grand and big. You have to create a climate where taxes are low and where people invest in their own dreams rather than trying to solve dreams for them through government.

That climate has allowed us to go through the tougher times. In the last year, when the economy softened in the United States, we made adjustments in our state budget. Most state governments right now are going through very tough choices in order to cut their budgets.

Florida's budget this year, starting on 1 July, will grow by 6.8 per cent, which is one of the highest rates in the country, because we dealt with the issues quickly. We had confidence that people's ability to rebound individually was there. We do not ask government through higher taxes and more spending to solve a problem.

We've cut taxes. We've invested in longer-term things such as roads and seaports and airports, to make our state competitive. And we've focused on new economy infrastructures to link up the rest of the world through the creation of a network access point that will allow us to be competitive in the new economy.

Investing in the long-term things and limiting government, and hopefully creating an entrepreneurial climate, is part of this pursuit of building a field of dreams.