Perdue in D.C.: 'More optimistic' on economy

Gov. Bev Perdue held a short conference call today with a handful of reporters, talking about her D.C. trip that’s set to wrap up Tuesday afternoon.

The occasion for the trip is the Winter Meeting of the National Governors’ Association. The governors meet twice a year for policy discussions on issues common to all states face, like transportation, education, and health care costs.

Perdue said innovation was the most-talked about issue at this summit. “I think the common fabric throughout all of the sessions is about the need to be globally competitive,” especially in manufacturing.

“We make things so well here,” Perdue said. “With all of the challenges with technology, we need to have a better educated workforce.”

Perdue said she’s “feeling more optimistic” about the economy after hearing from four economists over the weekend, including Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who said the long-awaited economic recovery is underway. But Perdue cautioned, “They say it’s like second quarter of a football game. It’s still fairly fragile.”

Perdue said decision-makers in Washington and Raleigh “need to avoid any kind of policies that would be an impediment to job growth” this year, like raising income taxes on small businesses or cutting out R&D tax credits. She also touted her proposal to lower the corporate income tax rate, and her Capital Access program for small businesses. “We don’t need to step away from anything,” she said, “We need to focus on it all and define our strengths.