Talk to any major company looking for places to grow their business and ask what their No. 1 priority is, and they’ll give you the same answer: people.

Year after year, business leaders say the same thing. They love Florida’s beautiful environment, from our beaches to our estuaries. They love our famous Sunshine State weather, too. But they can’t come to Florida because of lack of investment in our work force. We’ve lost enumerable companies to other states.

More than two decades of one-party rule in Florida have led to historic cuts to public education, inadequate health care, and a systematic dismantling of good policy that allowed Floridians of all walks of life to rise and achieve their own American dream. Now, of the 10 most populated states in the country, Florida ranks dead last in wages, incomes and per capita GDP.

I’m an entrepreneur who has helped create thousands of Florida jobs in the private sector. I grew my organization to become a multibillion dollar company with operations in over 50 countries — and I believe Mayor Andrew Gillum has the right plans for our state’s economy. We need a massive investment into our public education, our vocational and technical schools as well as our state colleges to create that skilled work force that both attracts new companies to Florida as well as sustain existing businesses.

Gillum’s “Fair Share for Florida’s Future” plan is a common-sense vision for how Florida can compete for the jobs of the future, lift up working families across the state, and give every child a quality public education. All without raising taxes on any person or family in Florida.

Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel Andrew Gillum, candidate for Florida Governor, speaks during an appearance at the Amway Center in Orlando on Thursday, October 4, 2018. Andrew Gillum, candidate for Florida Governor, speaks during an appearance at the Amway Center in Orlando on Thursday, October 4, 2018. (Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel)

Jason Hook / Courtesy photo Harold Mills Harold Mills (Jason Hook / Courtesy photo)

His plan calls for adjusting Florida’s tax rate for large corporations from 5.5 percent to 7.75 percent and using the ensuing $1 billion in new revenue to rebuild our public schools, pay teachers a minimum starting salary of $50,000 a year, and invest in critical programs that are proven like early childhood education and vocational training.

Let's be clear: Nearly 98 percent of businesses would still pay no corporate income tax. The 2 percent to 3 percent of corporations that already pay the tax would still pay 84 percent less combined corporate taxes than under the past eight years of Gov. Rick Scott. Those are the facts.

Meanwhile, Gillum’s opponents are getting desperate and ludicrously claiming that he’ll bring “socialism” to Florida. That’s nothing but fear and fiction. I’ve spent the last 17 years in the entrepreneurial world in Florida, and I know firsthand that Gillum’s investment plans are exactly what businesses have been waiting for.

After all, any successful person in business knows you don’t cut your way to growth. Instead, investments in people and your work force yield the greatest dividends.

We finally have the opportunity to do the same for Florida. Gillum will invest in programs that are proved to pay off: vocational education, trade schools, state colleges and great public schools that create jobs like electricians, plumbers, welders, technicians and many others that truly create and sustain Florida’s middle class.

As an entrepreneur and business leader, I believe we need to bet on our people. Targeted investment in education, training and our work force is the real strategic investment for our state with measurable payoff. Everyone in our state deserves a great education and Gillum’s plan will reap massive rewards for Florida families and build the Florida economy of the future.

Harold Mills is a Central Florida entrepreneur and former CEO of ZeroChaos, a business he grew from its inception to become a multibillion-dollar company with operations in over 50 countries.

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