The Business Perspective

With 38 million people and the eighth largest economy in the world, California has the resources to achieve great things for its citizens. But we don't always use those collective resources to our advantage. Besides the obvious political differences between Republicans and Democrats in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., we allow long standing geographic differences to undermine the development of plans to maximize the vast and diverse human and physical resources of our great State. These regional divisions go unchallenged, in part because we do not take the time to understand the resources and aspirations of the rest of the State and how we can all benefit by working together rather than rallying the troops to compete with each other.

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Last week, a group of Loyola Marymount University (LMU) students tried their hand at solving our nation’s budget deficit. At the West Coast launch of Budget Hero 2.0 — a web game sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Public Insight Network at American Public Media — teams of LMU students in economics and political science were tasked with eliminating $1.2 trillion of federal deficit. With free reign to make decisions on federal budget items, including defense, education, social security, Medicare and the Bush tax cuts, the teams deliberated on the real world impacts of cuts and expenditures. They all reached the same conclusion. Reducing the deficit is a daunting task, but it can be achieved with courage and compromise.

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Three weeks ago, Governor Jerry Brown laid out a fair and comprehensive plan to address California’s growing public employee pension liability crisis. The governor’s 12-point plan received widespread and positive news coverage from taxpayers, pension experts and media.

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Walk to End Homelessness on November 19 Each night 51,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles County. This population, which is the size of a small city, makes Los Angeles ...

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Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown released a forward-looking pension reform plan that will apply to current and future public employees, including state, local and school employees. His 12-point plan is aggressive and comprehensive, and deserves the support of the taxpayers and the state Legislature. It acknowledges the runaway and unsustainable costs of public employee pensions that have been staring the state in the face for far too long and can no longer be ignored.

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A local contract dispute and its resolution will greatly impact the lives and futures of Los Angeles' 700,000 schoolchildren. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education and the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) are engaged in negotiations toward a successor agreement to a contract that expired in June and remains in place until a new agreement is negotiated.

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President Barack Obama is signing three historic free trade agreements (FTAs) this week that will bode well for American companies and their employees. No state or its citizens will benefit more from these three agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia than California. And for that we thank the U.S. Congress for passing the measure last week. Our agricultural products, computer technology and manufactured goods will now be more attractive to consumers in these nations because the existing tariffs on American products will be eliminated over time. Estimates are that the FTA with Korea alone will generate an additional $13 billion in economic trade for U.S. companies each year. 

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When the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored ACCESS L.A. City Hall last Wednesday, we had one message that resonated throughout the morning — JOBS. We presented the City Council with a list of eight things they can do to create jobs, stimulate the economy and improve the quality of life for thousands of Angelenos. We also provided them with the 2011 Los Angeles City Council District Report showing economic indicators in each of their districts.

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Tomorrow, nearly 400 of Los Angeles' business and civic leaders will descend upon L.A. City Hall for the Chamber's annual member advocacy day, ACCESS L.A. City Hall. The focus will be on the many opportunities that City Hall has to be a partner with business in creating jobs, expanding the tax base and improving our quality of life … all without spending more money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As the Port of Los Angeles prepares for the opening of the widened Panama Canal in 2014, the goods movement industry is doing its part to make sure that Los Angeles is ready to meet the challenge with innovative, environmentally friendly projects and technology. Modernizing the terminals, deepening the channel, cleaning the trucks and developing near-dock rail facilities are all essential to maintaining our region's competitiveness. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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