Last year’s concern about a budget deficit and major tech companies leaving the state has been replaced by a debate over how to spend the $75 billion budget surplus.
Lost in this embarrassment of riches is the concern for the long-term health of the California economy and the industries that will be required to finance the state’s ongoing government commitments.
While the shockwaves of the initial departures of Hewlett Packard, Oracle, and others have receded, the issues that caused those companies to relocate still exist and must be addressed.
Unfortunately, concern for the well-being of the state’s business economy ebbs and flows. In 2013, the California State Assembly’s Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy argued that, “As the state emerges from the global recession, there is a need to re-evaluate the state’s innovation strengths and shore up areas of weakness.”
That imperative still exists. …
