More than two years ago, the Governor and Republican lawmakers began instituting fiscal policies to help boost Missouri’s economy. Since that time, the state budget has shown surpluses and job creation has accelerated. The Department of Economic Development reported this week that 5,000 new jobs were created in February despite a particularly harsh winter. But it is the long term economic picture that clearly demonstrates the successes of Republican economic stewardship. In the last year, 28,800 new jobs have been created. Since January 2005 when the Governor took office, a total of 82,500 Missourians have found work. It is now clear that measures like litigation reform, workers’ compensation reform, the Quality Jobs Act and responsible budgeting have helped Missouri rise from the ashes of Democrat fiscal mismanagement to a new level of economic prosperity.