Is It Really That Bad?

I just returned from the Big Horn mountains outside Buffalo, Wyoming, enjoying a few days away from the office.

The mountains and the people of Wyoming are beautiful, but what amazed me most were the questions and comments about California I heard from those I met.

We met people from Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida, New York and everywhere in between, and after a couple of hours of getting to know one another, the conversation quickly turned to California.

The common question I got from everyone I met was: “Is it really as bad as we read about in California?”

After some distracting conversation about the beaches and mountains (surfing in the morning and skiing in the afternoon), I could not hold off the avalanche of questions about everything from the city of Bell and outrageous pay, to the city of Los Angeles and the crumbling financial situation, to the California Legislature and the $19 billion budget deficit. People from other states knew about these issues in great detail. What happened?

California was once the place people wanted to go no matter what. People asked about the beaches, Hollywood, Disneyland, the wine country – not about politics, budget deficits, the public pension system and a governor whose most impressive work was to quote himself from his movies time after time.

We are at a critical juncture in California – and I’ve said this in previous articles – but the crushing weight of environmental laws and regulations, business unfriendly legislation (like SB 974 that would gut the entire enterprise zone program if it passes), the power of the public employees who put the benefit of their membership above the interests of the state, and the inability of the Legislature to stand up and right this sinking ship is putting Cali-fornia into a downward spiral that it may not be recoverable.

OK, so we all read about this stuff each and every day in our local and statewide media, but what can we do?

There are a number of ballot measures and candidates running this election cycle that will make a dynamic impact on the future of this state. There is also legislation that will further imperil this state should it pass. Here are some things to consider:

SB 974

This legislation would completely destroy the state’s enterprise zones if it becomes law. SB 974 did not make it out of the Legislature, but it may be part of the budget negotiations this year and get wrapped up in that sausage-making operation. Don’t let this happen. Enterprise zones are too important to this state, and specifically to the Santa Clarita Valley. Call your elected official and voice your opposition to this legislation. Don’t wait. Local jobs depend on your action.

Governor’s race

It is clear that Meg Whitman (no matter how many times she didn’t vote over the last 20 years) will be far better for business and industry in this state than Jerry Brown. As economist Joel Kotkin recently said of Jerry Brown, during his first time in office as governor, “Brown scuttled infrastructure spending, in large part because of his opposition to growth and concern for the environment. (Brown) legalized collective bargaining … (and) the public-employee unions … (became) the best-organized political force in California. … According to the unions, public funds should be spent on inflating workers’ salaries and pensions.” It is up to you to get involved in supporting the candidate for governor who we know won’t continue the trend set by Brown more than 30 years ago to empower public employee unions to the detriment of the state.

Proposition 23

The environment is something we all respect and want to protect. There is, however, an initiative on the November ballot that would repeal AB 32, the Global Greenhouse Gas initiative signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger, until the state’s unemployment rate falls below 5.5 percent. Adding additional regulation on top of an already crippling regulatory structure for businesses in California will only serve to drive more businesses out of state. (Full disclosure: I am working with the campaign in support of this initiative.)

So as I was leaving the Big Horn Mountains and saying goodbye to my new-found friends from across the nation, I thought to myself: I can’t believe people from Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and New York are criticizing the state and all our problems.

I live in California – the Golden State. Sadly, however, our image has been tarnished by years of inaction and legislative and regulatory schemes that have made us not the envy of the rest of the United States, but the brunt of jokes. Time to stop laughing (or grimacing) and take steps to change things in our Golden State.