By Robin Miller
Article Launched: 05/31/2008
Lt. Gov. John Garamendi speaks on Friday in Vacaville to a group of local civic and business leaders. (Robin Miller/RMiller@TheReporter.com)
Turning the economy around in California is a job that must be done from the bottom up, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi told a group of local civic and business leaders Friday in Vacaville.
As chairman of the Commission for Economic Development, the Lt. Governor said more focus must be placed on creating a well-educated and trained workforce.
"The number one most important infrastructure to build is not physical but intellectual infrastructure," Garamendi said. "Without a well-educated workforce we cannot compete."
Garamendi's comments came during a meeting of the Solano Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors, where he was the keynote speaker, answering questions about the future of economic development in the state and then touring a new solar energy system site at ALZA Pharmaceuticals.
In the midst of a severe budget crisis and increasingly tough economic times, California must maximize economic growth and development, Garamendi said.
In the past, California had "phenomenal" growth because of the entrepreneurial spirit of its residents coupled with an extraordinary educational system, he said.
"However, for the last three decades, we've forgotten what it takes to build an extraordinary economy, and we have let the education system decline," Garamendi said. "We have lost in our collective mentality the principle that education is crucial to the future."
Asked what to do to change the trend, Garamendi said change is necessary, particularly when it comes to funding.
"Our funding system is based on a 50- to 60-year-old model," he said.
Asked about what local communities can do to turn things around, Garamendi said tax incentives and other efforts to attract businesses are crucial.
"It is the entrepreneurial spirit of a community that will build economic development," he said.
Garamendi noted that current budget restraints are an issue blocking economic growth in the state, saying that some combination of increased taxes and spending cuts will have to be reached.
