Lenny Mendonca | Bay Citizen | May 28, 2010
The Bay Area Council Economic Institute recently released "Recession and Recovery: An Economic Reset" the seventh in its semi-annual series of Bay Area Economic Profile reports analyzing the Bay Area's economy.
The report’s release reads: "In the face of the worst economic downturn in decades, many of the perennial challenges that pose a threat to the economic success of the Bay Area have come into stark relief. And yet many of the region’s competitive economic strengths have come through the recession intact." Among these strengths are high rates of productivity, a high concentration of Fortune 1000 and Fortune Global 500 companies, high per capita GDP, a highly educated workforce, an innovation engine supported by world-leading research laboratories and universities, a large share of national venture capital investment, strength in emerging sectors such as clean tech, and deep global connections, particularly with Asia. All this gives the region a strong foundation for economic recovery.
Still, the study finds that the most immediate threat facing the Bay Area and California (many would argue the country), comes from our broken governance system, which affects the fiscal viability of local governments, and investment in the infrastructure and education base on which the long term success of the region’s economy depends. The failure of California’s governance system to make critical investments, produce budgets that fund critical services and balance revenues and expenditures, and embrace necessary reforms threatens our economic prosperity and puts the region and the state at a competitive disadvantage.