Liccardo: Don’t Blame Tech for Exodus
As the Bay Area Council moves quickly to advance our Business Climate Initiative, we were encouraged to read a powerful commentary by San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo that rightly argues “policy choices got us here. We can change those policies — if we’re willing to do something other than blaming tech for them. The tech-resentful might cheer as companies depart, but after a year in which the Bay Area shed 360,000 jobs, we’d do better to focus on solutions.”
Read Mayor Liccardo’s Commentary>>
Mayor Liccardo goes on to list the raft of issues, from housing and homelessness to regulation and taxes, that are causing a growing number of companies and investors to take their jobs and investment to other states. More than listing a dark inventory of problems, Mayor Liccardo lays out an aspirational case for taking seriously the flight of jobs and investment and offers solutions for restoring prominence and luster to California’s economy. The Council is looking forward to talking with Mayor Liccardo on Feb. 18 as part of our ongoing Bay Area Impact webinar series and we’ll be following up with information about how to register.
To better understand these issues and how to prioritize our efforts, the Council behind the leadership of our Business Climate Initiative Chair Clint Reilly this week convened a coalition of more than 40 leaders of many of the state’s largest and most prominent business and trade associations to hear from them about what they’re experiencing and develop a comprehensive political, communications and grassroots strategy for action.
When you’ve finished Mayor Liccardo’s commentary, we encourage to read another incisive commentary by New York Times columnist Ezra Klien examining the roots of some of the conflicting and counterintuitive political and ideological forces that have contributed to California’s dysfunction.
