FLASHREPORT

STATE GOVERNMENT MUST STOP FLOW OF JOBS OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA

Assemblyman Dan Logue

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Too many Californians are struggling today in the midst of an economy that is in sharp decline.

Real people are losing their jobs as companies like AAA, AT&T, Mervyn’s and so many others are downsizing, relocating to other states or closing their doors altogether because they cannot afford to stay in business here. 

Unfortunately, one of the main reasons why companies are shutting down and California’s unemployment has risen to 10.1 percent is because the Legislature has made it too expensive for many businesses to prosper in our state.  We believe we can take steps to turn our economy around by lowering costs.

In recent months, the Legislature has made some progress in lowering business costs and giving businesses a little more freedom and flexibility so they can prosper in California.  We gave a new tax credit to small businesses to hire new workers, lowered taxes for companies based in the state and sped up the construction of voter-approved infrastructure projects – all good first steps towards getting our battered economy back on track.  However, much more needs to be done as we are facing one of the worst recessions in the past fifty years.

That is why Assembly Republicans have created a Working Group on Job Creation and Retention that will explore why businesses have fled California in recent years for other states.  There is no more important priority for us than the economy and jobs.  As chair of this new group, I look forward to helping craft legislation to stimulate our economy and get unemployed Californians working again.

Our group will hold hearings outside California in places such as Nevada, meeting with companies who left our state to explore why they did and see what we can learn from our mistakes to prevent other companies from doing the same thing.  What these companies have to say will help us develop ideas that will help make our state more competitive in the global economy.

Some of the ideas that our working group will explore include exempting from state sales tax the equipment that companies purchase to manufacture products in California.  We believe this can go along way to encouraging more manufacturing in our state, which has practically disappeared in recent years.  California has lost a whopping 473,500 manufacturing jobs since 2001, while at the same time creating 171,400 government jobs.  Government jobs are no substitute for private sector jobs.

Other ideas include streamlining the business permit process and simplifying the state’s complex tax code, which can be major barriers for those who want to invest in our communities.  We also want to give employers and employees more affordable health care options.  By keeping care affordable, we can protect jobs and keep California competitive with other states with lower health care costs.

Democrats and Republicans alike should be able to agree that implementing these ideas can help job-creating companies save money, avoid layoffs and remain in California.  While some may disagree on how to implement these ideas, one thing is clear – acting now to help turn our state’s economy around is just as important as our work to solve our perpetual budget problems.  More people working means less demand for government services, more people buying things and more tax revenue for the state.

Passing additional economic stimulus will do more to help our economy than any new government program we could create.  My partners and I on the working group are ready to get to work, and we look forward to putting California jobs at the top of the legislative agenda once again.       
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Assemblyman Dan Logue represents the 3rd Assembly District in the California Legislature.

You can write to Assemblyman Logue, via the FR, here.