The Last Jobs in Los Angeles
by Tony Chavira
(wise words from North Coast Zeitgeist)
City National Bank CEO Russell Smith has an opinion article in the LA Times today that's all about how LA can spur some serious job growth again. He has a bunch of examples up his sleaves, but here are the interesting ones he mentioned in the article:
* Buy local: In 2009, L.A. city government spent roughly $1.7 billion for various goods and services. Unfortunately, companies in L.A. received only 15% of it. More than half of the total went to firms outside the region, and some of it left the state entirely. The city's procurement guidelines should give preference to local manufacturers and service companies.
* Lower the city's gross receipts tax. Los Angeles is a particularly expensive place to do business, according to the annual Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business Survey. One reason is a convoluted gross receipts levy that taxes local companies on revenue they earn in the city of Los Angeles -- and at a higher rate than they stand to pay in neighboring cities. Reducing the tax would significantly lower the costs of doing business in L.A. and encourage companies to expand and hire local workers.
* Expand the Port of Los Angeles in an environmentally responsible way. L.A. has one big economic advantage over every other American city: It is the nation's major gateway to Asia and Latin America. The local port complex handles more than 40% of all U.S. waterborne merchandise trade. To retain our competitive advantage and accommodate growth, we need to transport goods faster and more efficiently. That means placing rail facilities closer to the port. Completion of the Southern California International Gateway project would create as many as 14,000 jobs in L.A. County, according to the economic forecasting firm IHS Global Insight.
* Encourage local film and television production. Annual production of a one-hour television series drama creates 180 direct jobs and 540 indirect jobs. These jobs ripple into almost all sectors of the city's economy. In addition to waiving the fees for filming at popular sites, the city should create "entertainment and technology zones" that would attract companies through tax credits, lower utility costs, fee waivers and so forth.
* Fix LAX. The city should accelerate its efforts to improve and modernize Los Angeles International Airport and make growing tourism and airport-related jobs a top priority. LAX is the world's fifth-busiest passenger airport, and it is responsible for 460,000 jobs in the region. One international flight operating daily supports an average of more than 3,000 local jobs. A world-class city in the 21st century cannot tolerate a second-class airport.
Proposals like this are needed pretty badly when playboy mayor Villaraigose is willing to order the elimination fo 1,000 jobs to balance the city budget.
I just hope that green job creation won't be hindered by this move, especially since local government are usually the #1 instigators of green job development and growth. But between this threat and Republicans trying to cut away at environmental policy in Sacramento, nature won't be looking too kindly on us Californians.
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