Peter Shumlin in 2012 Governor's State of the State speeches

On Corporations: Getting credit to entrepreneurs when they need it grows jobs

Partnering with the Vermont Economic Development Authority, we created an emergency low interest loan program that got credit of up to $100,000 to crippled job creators within days. More than 340 businesses and farms were granted loans, totaling $15.3 million. With liquidity, Vermont ingenuity and hard work, miracle after miracle happened as business after business reopened.

The lesson for Vermont government in helping to grow jobs in Vermont is simple: Getting credit to entrepreneurs when they need it most grows prosperity and grows jobs. In fact, there is nothing standing in the way of Vermont's job creators that cannot be made right by a partnership with state government and expedited risk credit for businesses when others won't lend.

On Jobs: Vermont unemployment rate, 5.3%, is among lowest in America

If you don't believe the data, I invite you to join me on the road, reaching out to Vermont's job creators. My administration and I commit ourselves every day to attracting entrepreneurs and growing jobs, one job at a time, as we slowly but surely grow our way out of the most painful recession in our nation's history.

On Local Issues: Tropical Storm Irene recovery: we rebuilt faster & smarter

There are two Irene lessons that we must seize from our experience. The first lesson is clear: if after Irene we can rebuild over 500 miles of damaged road & 34 bridges in four months for a fraction of normal cost, we must apply those lessons to maintaining and rebuilding Vermont's aging transportation infrastructure from this point forward. We will build faster, smarter, and more economically.

The second lesson comes from the remarkable tenacity of the hundreds of small businesses that were drowned in water and mud. I pledge the following: My jobs agenda will expand the ability of businesses to get access to capital when they need it most.