Conference Presentation, Fireside Chat, Panel
2015 CA Summit - Perception vs. Reality: Is California Business Friendly?
- Global attention and agendas are expected to shift toward the East, with the West moving its focus rather than vice versa, driven by the vibrancy and raw assets of Los Angeles which is predicted to lead the world stage again.
- Significant private investment is planned, including the Bolloré Group's $25 million in Los Angeles, Google Fiber and AT&T's deployment of fiber networks offering speeds 200 times faster than current standards, and digital technology companies expanding due to talent and infrastructure convergence.
- Los Angeles aims to balance practical needs with inspiration in business decisions, evidenced by plans to cut the punitive gross receipts tax on startups with $10 million in flow, expand film tax credits by $350 million annually to project $1.3 billion in job investment, and champion key industries through deregulation and infrastructure investment.
- The city targets the creation of 20,000 new green jobs, expecting the current count to already be 6,000, positioning itself as the green jobs capital with the Los Angeles Clean Tech Incubator ranked as the number one globally.
- Federal grants exceeding $60 million are anticipated from the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership designation to assist aerospace companies in retooling and training workers, while the state and city leverage bioscience leadership, evidenced by California hosting three of the top regions in biotech patents.
- Infrastructure expansion includes five new rail lines projected to face voter approval next year to fund a tunnel through the 405 and a new line to LAX, alongside an $8.5 billion terminal overhaul at Los Angeles International Airport and a daily $1 million spending plan at the Port of Los Angeles to maximize competitiveness.
- California is expected to account for 70% of all U.S. activity over a long period, strengthened by access to venture capital, private equity, a skilled workforce, and tourism, with small businesses driving growth as 98% of actively exporting U.S. companies are small-medium enterprises.
- International trade opportunities are highlighted by the fact that 95% of the world's consumers and 80% of purchasing power reside outside the U.S., with a rising Asian middle class, particularly in China, expected to drive demand for high-quality products.
- Significant capital inflows are predicted from Chinese nationals, with 4 to 6 trillion dollars of liquidity potentially moving overseas, primarily into the United States, and 84% of foreign-born doctoral students obtaining degrees in science.
- Education and workforce development are critical, with warnings that failing to raise skill sets or reprioritize education funding amidst an aging population and healthcare inflation could lead to terminal decline, though universities remain a center for innovation where student retention exceeds other states.
- Bioscience, energy, and sustainability are identified as future leaders, with California expected to take the bleeding edge 20 to 100 years from now in areas including genome sequencing, air quality, and water.
- Venture capital is expected to concentrate within a one-hour traveling radius, and national firms are targeted to remain in California to keep 65 to 70 billion dollars of state and local government money invested locally.
- Disruption is expected across media, agriculture, communications, transportation, manufacturing, retail, and health sectors, starting in California, while technology companies are projected to outperform non-exporters in growth, wages, and overall performance.
- Risks include the necessity for California to diversify and simplify its tax base to capitalize on economic rebounds and the need to maintain education funding to avoid financing losses, with the state currently ranked number one globally for bioscience density outside the defense Beltway in Virginia.