Labor Day 2010 and the Dog that Didn’t Bark
As we arrive at Labor Day 2010, the job numbers remain the worst in California since World War II in California, and some of the worst in the nation since World War II. State unemployment is at 12.3%– and would be higher, except that the number of workers counted as seeking work has declined.
Payroll jobs through July 2010 stood at 13,874,900, down slightly more than14,000 jobs from July 2009-and down from a high of 15.2 million jobs in July 2007.
The severe job losses we saw in the first half of 2009 (which topped over 100,000 net jobs lost in January 2009 alone) stopped by last Labor Day, and we have not seen similar losses since. But neither have we seen any significant net job gains. The dog hasn’t barked in the night, and the past year in California employment has been characterized mainly by what has not occurred rather than what has.
The Great Electricity Disconnect
For
years, the California Legislature, Governor Schwarzenegger and
environmentalists have been pushing for California’s investor-owned
utilities to get more of the power they generate and sell to their
customers from renewable energy such as wind, solar and biomass.
On paper, the efforts have produced great fanfare in the media but on the ground they are falling short.
In
2002, the legislature passed a bill requiring the investor-owned
utilities to produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources
by 2017. In 2003, the California Energy Commission moved it to 20
percent by 2010.
Spotlight On Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneur always seemed like a funny word. Just say it in your head.
People
often claim to be an entrepreneur. Many like to tell other people that
they are entrepreneurs – "you seem like one heck of an entrepreneur!"
one might say at a fancy dinner, a softball game or at the local
lemonade stand.
By and large though, we all tend to forget to
recognize what these business people who operate as their own business
do for our financial system. Entrepreneurs
are the foundation of any small business. In turn, small businesses are
the strength of the economy at the state and local levels. Here’s an
opportunity to mention a select group of Californians who were
recognized by FedEx as "Entrepreneurs of the Year."
The Seeds of Education Reform Are Growing This Fall
This time of year, education takes center stage as students of all ages
return to school. Yet this is not an ordinary fall.
Higher education in
California has reduced the number of classes being offered and the
number of students being admitted due to budget cuts; and K-12 public
education is facing more students in many classrooms due to the same
budget cuts. Here in Los Angeles and across the nation, teacher
evaluations have attracted the spotlight due to President Obama’s "Race
to the Top" and a series of articles by the Los Angeles Times.
Last Friday, the president of the University of California, the
chancellor of California State University and the chancellor of the
California Community College System were at the Chamber to discuss the
state of higher education in California on the 50th anniversary of our Master Plan for Higher Education.
All three leaders emphasized the changes that budget cuts have caused
at their institutions; and at the same time they voiced appreciation
for the confidence that the public has in California’s system of higher
education, and a continued commitment to maintaining quality and
meeting the needs of as many California students as possible.