What a year. Probably one of the most memorable in many of our lives (I remember 1968 but not The Depression). As far as business and the economy go, obviously it has been difficult. “They” say 2009 is probably going to be worse but things should get better in early 2010. As I’ve said in this column before in the past several months, we’ve tried to interpret our local business scene in a responsible manner. We haven’t jumped on the negativity bandwagon but I’ve been trying to make sure that we don’t paint too rosy of a picture either. You (the readers) be the judge. Considering it has been a weird year, I thought I’d devote my final column of the year to a look ahead rather than a look back. I’m going to be on vacation during the period we put together our first issue of 2009, so I figured I’d do it now. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. is working on the future as we discuss the bad times right now. That organization is developing a formal economic strategy for the area and going throughout the county getting feedback from residents to help form this. LAEDC head Bill Allen and his team stopped at L.A. Valley College recently at a forum to get some input from businesspeople and others. There were social service officials, too, who provided some valuable input. I attended and wrote down all the issues that were talked about. They are varied and I’ll try to present some of them here. I also wrote down what I thought were some stunning statistics that Allen and his staff talked about. For instance: In the last 25 years, L.A. has acquired 1 million new residents but there actually has been a net loss of 50,000 jobs during that period. Unbelievable. We need an economic strategy for sure & #377; or perhaps a miracle. The strategy is focusing on several different problem areas: An educated workforce, a business friendly environment, quality of life, land use and infrastructure. Much of the discussion at the Valley College forum focused on the educated workforce issue as well as it should have. I’ve said repeatedly over the years that an educated and trained workforce is the most crucial “problem” we must deal with. Many of the younger people coming out of our high schools and colleges aren’t educated enough to join our workforce as valuable members. So what was said by the audience at the forum? Some said we must dump the idea that everybody should go to college. A vocational education can be more valuable for many people than a standard degree. Engineering and science talent is lacking, so some suggested we take engineering studies to the junior high school level. We should develop a more entrepreneurial spirit in kids, some said. Getting parents involved was a big part of the discussion. But how does this happen? It isn’t working quite yet, many agreed. Some parents just don’t know how to get involved. The older worker was discussed. There’s little funding for these people. We need more. Business-friendly environment: Allen brought up that L.A. County needs a consistent brand to attract and retain businesses. The county has much more going for it than just entertainment. We’re the manufacturing capital and nobody knows about it. Nimbyism was brought up. That, I believe, is one of the things we really have to focus on. Why do neighborhood groups have so much power to stop things? How can this power be more effectively used for the greater good of the community? So that left quality of life, land use and infrastructure. Those issues are extremely important but there wasn’t much time left for those in the discussion. There’s way too much to talk about. Quality of life: You must engage government, labor and social services in discussing this. But in my opinion you gotta be realistic about everything (take the ridiculous stance labor unions took on the auto bailout. They rather see the companies fail than to give up anything.). Land Use: Many cities in this state don’t have an economic development plan as part of their general plans. Development officials feel that may be part of the reason why the state is considered so business unfriendly. Infrastructure: It must be made a priority, most people at the forum believed. Our ports and airports need modernizing, but you got those Nimbys to deal with. Allen said that the Orange Line in the Valley is a good example of how everybody worked together to improve infrastructure. I agree but as a user of that line I believe it could be far more effective than it is by having more buses and a marketing campaign that promotes its use to white-collar workers. How about a really good public transportation system that includes buses that come every two minutes? That’s more sensible than a subway to the sea that no one will use. The new year will be difficult. But let’s learn lessons from our inefficiencies from past years. It’ll be OK. Good health and good luck to everybody. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected] .