(May 21, 2009) This year is “the perfect time to require that all legislative proposals are reviewed for economic impact,” Frederick R. Ruiz, chair of the California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, told a statewide audience this week.
“California’s recent economic trends are moving in the wrong direction,” Ruiz commented at the Sacramento Host Breakfast on May 19, calling for legislators to “do no more harm” and defeat the “job killers.”
The 83rd anniversary of the annual breakfast brought together 1,100 statewide leaders from business, agriculture, state government, education and the military.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared via video at the breakfast, announcing he would be in Washington, D.C. as President Barack Obama announced federal greenhouse gas emission standards will match California’s by 2016.
Political humorist Will Durst was the final speaker at the breakfast.
Then and Now
Ruiz, co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of Ruiz Foods, the largest manufacturer of frozen Mexican food in the United States, contrasted current conditions with those in 1964, the year he and his father started the company.
During that “midpoint of our state’s great golden era,” Ruiz noted, California had “the vision to move forward with infrastructure investments that made California great,” including water projects, transportation and highways, schools and the higher education systems.
Today, the cost of doing business, natural resource issues, such as water, the business and economic climate and higher education are challenges facing the state, Ruiz said.
“On more than one occasion, I’ve found myself wondering if we were starting Ruiz Foods today, would we be able to succeed and would we be able to pursue our business dream here in California,” Ruiz said. “In 1964, the decision was simple and a resounding ‘yes.’ Today, I’m not so sure — it would definitely be a lot more costly and difficult.”
Time for Action
The state’s deteriorating economy “is at least partly due to the high cost of doing business here — Taxes, fees and mandates that are enacted without considering their cumulative impact on jobs and business expansion,” Ruiz said.
Enacting bills on the CalChamber’s “job creators” list would be a good start toward improving California’s business climate, he said. “On the flip side,” he commented, to improve the business climate, elected leaders can defeat the “job killers.”
Optimism
Commenting that a lot of work is needed “to recapture the spirit of enterprise that was alive and well in 1964,” Ruiz said he is an “optimist who believes it can and will be done.”
He urged breakfast attendees to help deliver the job creation message. “Now more than ever we cannot allow our elected officials to just talk a good game — they need to lead and walk their talk,” he said.
“With your help we will resurrect a new golden era for the next generations of mothers and fathers, and their daughters and sons to start up their own businesses and grow the California economy, and most importantly, to realize their American dream,” Ruiz said.