Jobs plan meets strong support

Employed: The governor is pushing a job-creation package that would train up to 140,000 workers. (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO — A proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to make job growth a top priority in the coming year was met with enthusiasm by many San Francisco business leaders, who said the plan could bolster The City’s weak economy.

In his final State of the State address, the governor told lawmakers in Sacramento on Wednesday morning that his commitment to making job growth a top priority in 2010 is unwavering. The state faces a 12 percent unemployment rate, one of the highest in the nation. 

“Jobs, jobs, jobs,” Schwarzenegger said emphatically, inciting a booming applause. “We can be a better partner to the economy.”

Specifically, the governor is pushing a $500 million jobs package aimed at sparking the state’s feeble job market. That money would pay for training up to 140,000 workers and create new jobs.

“Economic recovery starts with jobs, so investing in employers is just what the doctor ordered,” said Steve Falk, president and CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

The unemployment rate in The City is hovering just below 10 percent.

The governor also emphasized the need to capitalize on what California knows best: innovation. He pointed to green tech, biotech and high tech as maturing industries that could help strengthen the state’s economy. To help, Schwarzenegger proposed exempting green-tech manufacturing products from the state sales tax.

A tax exemption for biotech already exists in San Francisco. In 2005, The City exempted such companies from the 1.5 percent payroll tax.

The proposals were met with a wait-and-see attitude from some business leaders, who said state lawmakers now have to bring the changes to fruition.

“I’m encouraged,” said Jim Wunderman, executive director of the Bay Area Council, a local policy advocacy group. “California’s economy is facing record unemployment and stimulating it with dollars for training and hiring unemployed folks is certainly appropriate. I hope the Legislature will see it that way.”

The plan was not universally accepted in The City.

Scott Hauge, president of Small Business California, is curious about how these proposals will trickle down to help small businesses.

“I think unless small business is a major player, it is not going to happen,” he said. “I didn’t see any reference to small business, and we are the job creators.”

Mayor Gavin Newsom was less enamored with the governor’s speech, asserting that previous solutions to preserving important elements of the budget, like education, have been kicked off the table too many times.

“I appreciated the speech ... but it just leaves me a little frustrated,” Newsom said. “Maybe that’s the former gubernatorial candidate speaking. I respect the governor’s [speech and the difficulty of his job], but as a mayor, it didn’t give me any sense that things are going to drive any change.”

 

Repairing California

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger laid out a plan to create jobs and boost the economy during his last State of the State address.

$20 billion Deficit California faces

140,000 Workers that could be trained under the plan

100,000 Jobs that could be created

12 percent State’s current unemployment rate

9.9 percent The City’s current unemployment rate

esherbert@sfexaminer.com