The wrong approach to help vets

The state’s Quality Jobs Act provides tax rebates to companies that build or expand in Oklahoma, provided they meet certain payroll, wage and benefit criteria. State Rep. Eric Proctor wants to add a quota system to the mix.

A bill by Proctor, D-Tulsa, would require that military veterans comprise at least 10 percent of a company’s new hires if it wants to get Quality Jobs Act benefits. “It is my sincere hope that the Legislature will be able to put our troops and their families before politics and any special-interest groups who stand in the way of jobs for our veterans,” Proctor proclaimed this week.

We’re all for helping the men and women who have gone off to war. But mandating that a company hire X amount of any class is wrong. And in this case, it suggests that new or expanding companies are actively working not to hire veterans.

This bill should be shelved.