The Business Perspective

With January in full swing, I wanted to share my “wish list” for improving the economy of the City and County of Los Angeles for the upcoming year. Here’s what my dream year would look like:

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As 2015 comes to a close, we should celebrate that Los Angeles County has 73,200 more jobs than one year ago and our unemployment rate stands at 5.9 percent, down from 8 percent in November 2014. The result is a happier holiday season for many families and friends.

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Last week, both houses of Congress passed and the President signed into law the Every Student Success Act (ESSA). This bill replaces the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation that was enacted 12 years ago. The goal of ESSA is to ensure that all students, including our youngest learners, have equal access to a quality education no matter their background or ethnicity. 

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Last month, a group of activists calling themselves the “Coalition to Preserve L.A,” led by Michael Weinstein with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, filed papers to place an initiative on the November 2016 ballot that would establish a citywide building moratorium on higher density housing. The measure is officially titled “Restrictions on General Plan Amendments, Required Review of General Plan; Building Moratorium Initiative Ordinance,” but don’t be fooled by the archaic sounding language. The implications of this measure would be devastating to Los Angeles and doom us to a permanent housing shortage.

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Last Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman had lunch at the Chamber to discuss the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Trade Agreement that Congress will consider in 2016. Prior to the Chamber meeting, Ambassador Froman met with leaders from the motion picture industry, who are very supportive of the TPP and know how important the agreement is to growing entertainment jobs in L.A. and California.

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Thanksgiving is an important day on the American calendar, both for our nation, and for each of us as individuals, families and businesses. It is a collective opportunity to express appreciation for all that we have, whether that is a little or a lot.

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Since 2010, a new six-year federal transportation bill has been a high priority for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce during our frequent trips to Washington, D.C. After 33 short-term extensions and the two-year MAP-21 bill, Congress is finally poised to approve the first long-term transportation package since SAFETEA-LU was passed in 2005. America needs this certainty to ensure the construction of essential transportation and goods movement infrastructure for the future.

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Every Veterans Day we celebrate those few among us who have done so much for so many. Through bravery and sacrifice of life and health, our men and women in uniform give so much and ask so little in defending our country. On Nov. 11 each year we honor those who have served. Yet after the parades end, the speeches conclude, the picnics are packed up and the bunting is taken down, we all return to our everyday lives, while the real struggle continues for so many that we just exalted.

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Chambers of Commerce across America were often formed to champion major infrastructure improvements. For the L.A. Area Chamber, that project was the Port of Los Angeles 127 years ago. 

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It is a core tenet of every action we take at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce that the best commodity is a job. A job allows us to stand with pride and be empowered to take care of ourselves, our families and our community. A job teaches young adults important values, and increases our individual and collective human capital.

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