California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger presented the State of the State speech yesterday.

The speech reviewed key events and subsequent state actions over the last year such
as the wildfires in southern California and the fiery truck crash that melted the 580 freeway
interchange in Oakland.  The Governor’s comments set the tone illustrating that while perceptions
of government can be seen as slow and ineffective, the expedited response to these incidents
provide evidence that government can work, it can be efficient and can lead.

The Governor continued illustrating examples of government’s work in leadership and its efficiency in
deploying services in response to the needs of Californians.  The Governor cited several examples
including the current downturn in housing and the potential risks by state residents in loosing their
homes by finding solutions through a voluntary agreement with lenders freezing interest rates,
helping some 100,000 Californians.  In addition, government is finding solutions to the deficiencies
in elementary education based upon the federal program of ‘No Child Left Behind.’ Also, he
illustrated the foresight to find solutions to a broken health care system for the state and the
primary issue of his speech- finding solutions to the $14 billion state budget deficit.

The Governor’s comments provided insight to his thoughts and visions.  He identified that the state
is not suffering from an economic downturn and that the budget problem is not because the state
is in economic trouble but because of the lack of fiscal controls. 

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.