The Business Perspective

Since 2009 the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce has worked in partnership with the United Way of Greater Los Angeles to pioneer a new approach to end chronic and veteran homelessness through the creation of permanent supportive housing. This effort, known as Home for Good, began with visits to other communities that were making progress in meeting this difficult challenge. Taking advantage of their lessons learned, Home for Good was born and in five years we have housed 9,305 chronically homeless and 14,094 homeless veterans. Key components of Home for Good’s success include a Coordinated Entry System and a Funders’ Collaborative that has invested more than $650 million.

Read More

Advertising is essential for growing a business and our economy. More than 6,000 small and large businesses in Los Angeles use outdoor advertising as part of their strategy to market their goods and services. Outdoor advertising also creates thousands of jobs in our region for people who design and create the advertisements and for those who construct and service billboards and signage.

Read More

It was exciting news yesterday that the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations among Pacific Rim nations have resulted in a final agreement. If ratified, this treaty would not only benefit the United States as a whole, but also uniquely and specifically the Los Angeles economy, which serves as the gateway to and from the U.S. for trade with these economies.

Read More

As business leaders know, wellness issues, including the obesity epidemic, are tipping the scales against the bottom line. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 states have an adult obesity rate greater than 30 percent, and rates of obesity among children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 have tripled since 1980.

Read More

Chamber members need to run their businesses, service their customers and create jobs. Doing those things doesn’t leave a lot of time to attend meetings at City Hall. Yet once year, at our ACCESS L.A. City Hall event, we have hundreds of business leaders, from companies of all shapes and size,s stand together, with one voice.  

Read More

In economics, supply and demand impact pricing. Nowhere is that more obvious than in housing in Los Angeles. Our lack of housing has pushed prices upward and forced many employees to endure hour-long commutes between where they work and where they can afford to live.

Read More

As we approach the final days of the legislative session, Governor Brown has released a framework for a transportation funding package. We urge legislators to us this proposal as the basis for negotiations and come together to fix our crumbling streets and roads now.

Read More

The Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has embarked on its most important decision – the selection of a new superintendent. Current Superintendent Ray Cortines has announced that he will be leaving during this school year after completing his third stint at the helm. During each of these voyages, he has demonstrated determined leadership to unify the board and steer the district ship forward.

Read More

A Los Angeles bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics needs to be submitted prior to Labor Day and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is pledging its support to Mayor Eric Garcetti and Bid Committee Chairman Casey Wasserman. The endorsement was provided by the Chamber’s Executive Committee, in a unanimous vote, at its meeting last week.

Read More

Public opinion polls show that Californians are concerned about jobs. They are also concerned about climate change and there is a tail-wind of support behind two bills in the legislature to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: SB 32 by Senator Fran Pavley and SB 350 by Senate pro temp Kevin deLeon.

Read More