Otter: Trump will 'bring $ home'

COEUR d’ALENE — Idaho is a complicated state.

"We have a lot of moving parts," Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce President Steve Wilson said.

From education and technology to construction and manufacturing, Gov. Butch Otter discussed many of those moving parts Wednesday during his Address to the Business Community at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn.

"He has a full grasp of all those parts," Wilson said. "He's done a great job working with the Legislature to make some terrific progress."

More than 240 leaders and representatives from local businesses, organizations and academic institutions attended the mid-year address, which included updates and the governor's thoughts on several of Idaho's industries.

But the governor also reflected on Donald Trump winning the general election.

“To me, it was a great night,” Otter said.

He said one thing Trump plans to do is “bring the money home” and tax big companies that are doing business overseas.

“That’s quick money, and I’ll tell you, they’re all waiting in line to bring that money home because they don’t want to leave it overseas,” Otter said. “We need that kind of incentive in the United States. So I can tell you, I’m bullish, I’m really optimistic on a Trump administration.”

Otter also happens to be almost unbearably bullish on Idaho business.

"Idaho’s manufacturing payroll is expected to expand by 3.5 percent this year,” Otter told the crowd. “Our construction is expanding at 7 percent — that leads the nation.

"Here's the big one," he continued. "Idaho housing. We're growing by 25 percent this year in Idaho. What you're seeing up here (in North Idaho) we're actually seeing all over the state.

"Idaho moves at the speed of business."

Otter said Idaho is pouring more concrete and installing more rebar than any other state, percentage-wise. He said a New York company recently established itself in Idaho and national manufacturing companies like Clif Bar are being drawn to the state.

"It seems like we started a cluster, and that’s why manufacturing is so important,” he said. "If we’re going to have continued success in manufacturing, then we’ve got to have the kind of technological advance that we need from the technology industry, from the whiz kids, from the intelligence from the universities and research so that we can make it better, faster and safer."

Otter said North Idaho’s unemployment rate of 3.8 percent is a little higher than the state average, which means "we’ve got roughly 30,500 people out of work, 30,500 families that aren’t being employed. But the real tragedy is that we’ve got 22,800 jobs we can’t fill because they aren’t qualified."

Community colleges and universities are the core of workforce training and building Idaho's workforce, he said, but they aren't just for high school graduates. Higher education and training could help anyone polish their skillsets to qualify for better jobs and fill those open positions.

"We have to reinvent ourselves," he said. "That's why you got to have smart kids, that's why you got to have people that are coming up that are prepared to think outside the box and create new things. And there's only one environment, folks, that we can do that, and that's in the classroom.”

Otter said Idaho has one of the highest credit ratings in the nation. Taxes have been cut $1.4 billion since 2011 and $8 billion in capitalization is driving Idaho's $65 billion economy.

"It's an exciting time," Otter said.