Editor's Note, Just received this note from a friend:
I read through the SB1 bill
last night. No, I was not having trouble sleeping. Have you read
the bill? There are some interesting assertions in the bill that are not
"accurate". My favorite is the sections talking about
clean energy manufacturing. CA has actively attacked and driven out huge
number of manufacturing jobs out of the state. This has been going on for
years. Between CAL OSHA / CAL EPA and the most aggressive agency, the
State Franchise Board manufacturing has a very difficult time doing business in
CA.
In thinking about this bill, it is a back door attempt to
reestablish the Redevelopment agencies that the Governor shut down. This
is unfortunate. Gov. Brown shut down these agencies for two reasons:
- They don't delivery on what they promise.
- The state need the money to balance the budget.
Two areas leap to mind, Oakland, and Hercules. The
amount of money poured into the area to build offices and shopping centers that
today, are largely empty. There is an assertion in SB1 that construction jobs
are "good jobs". Judging by what I see on construction sites,
most of these jobs are filled with "undocumented workers", and are seldom union
jobs. Most of the construction industry is built on the idea of
huge expansive growth driven by the economy and population. Construction
is a lagging indicator of growth. The problem is that before the
"correction" or melt down of 2008, construction related jobs
accounted for about 10% of the CA economy. This number was not
sustainable as the collapse demonstrated.
I am not sure if you noticed but there is a prevailing
wage clause in the bill. If you have spent anytime around SF contract
practices you should probable get very upset about the clause.
I am writing the Governor about the bill and asking him
to veto the bill. There is no telling what will happen there.
As minor note:
There was paper written in 2003 by the EU commission on what
happens when we reach 0 growth. The paper walked through the idea that
most eu countries (especially Germany) are highly dependent on emerging
markets, new markets. What happens when the only growth a company/economy
sees is related to population growth? I will admit that paper was written
by a Frenchman, who are taught the free markets require government supervision
but it is an interesting thought exercises. The paper was written to get
policy makers to realize that the era endless, boundless growth is coming to an
end. What happens when revenue growth matches population growth.
-M.
Foot notes.
1. A minor note, the 10% includes the entire supply
chain surround construction, materials, design, planning and etc.
Contact California Governor Jerry Brown HERE
or call NOW 916-445-2841
No comments:
Post a Comment