Posted on 02/07/2006 6:14:51 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The multibillion dollar public works program proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will do more than just help California keep pace with a booming population, the governor told a crowd of business leaders Tuesday.
It also will be a boon for construction companies and their workers, providing a long-term boost to California's resurgent economy.
Schwarzenegger combined two of his favorite themes in an address to 250 business leaders who gathered at the University of Southern California to hear him promote his $222.6 billion public works package: job growth and the need to rebuild California's aging roads, schools, levees, prisons and government buildings.
He said his plan would lead to a construction boom creating thousands of jobs. Every $1 billion spent on road building, for example, would lead to nearly 19,000 jobs for working families, generate $750 million in labor income and bring an additional $65 million in tax revenue to the state, the governor said.
"It's good for the people, and it is good for business," Schwarzenegger said. "... I want to see cranes everywhere, I want to see steel put down, concrete poured and roads built."
Schwarzenegger's plan calls for expanding and repairing highways, improving flood control systems, constructing additional reservoirs, adding jail and prison cells, building schools and upgrading courthouses and other government buildings.
He wants voters to approve the sale of $68 billion in bonds in a series of elections through 2014 to help pay for the projects. The rest of the money would come from other sources, much of it from federal and local governments and the private sector.
Several legislative committees have been holding hearings on aspects of Schwarzenegger's proposals. They will make recommendations to a two-house conference committee that will try to agree on how much of the governor's plan to enact.
Legislative leaders have indicated that Schwarzenegger will get much less than he's proposed, which likely would translate into a less ambitious jobs and construction program. The legislation approved by lawmakers also is likely to include money for projects not included in Schwarzenegger's plan, such as buying land for parks and wildlife habitat and upgrading hospitals.
The governor's plan has been criticized by state Treasurer Phil Angelides, one of two candidates running for the Democratic nomination for governor this year. A report by Angelides' office said the proposal is full of gimmicks and relies on billions of dollars in uncertain funding sources.
Schwarzenegger defended the plan Tuesday.
"Some call it a fantastic plan for the future, and others call it too big and it is too irresponsible," Schwarzenegger said. "Well, what I say to those critics is that they are dead wrong. In a state with the size and ambition of California, I say it is irresponsible not to have a vision this bold for our future."
Schwarzenegger also said the plan includes $2 billion to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, an expenditure that he also characterized in economic terms.
"Higher productivity from a better environment should give us an $8 billion economic benefit from our clean-air investment," Schwarzenegger said.
Tuesday's speech to the business leaders was the latest event by Schwarzenegger designed to promote his so-called strategic growth plan since he announced it in January during his State of the State address.
His audience included representatives from the Black Business Association, the Latin Business Association and the Los Angeles Business Council. Carlos Galvan, a board member of the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the governor's proposal could be a boon for banks and financing companies.
"If you're going to open up a lot of contracts to bidding, these companies will need short-term financing to help them," said Galvan, who works in the banking industry.
But he also called the plan ambitious and cautioned that its final scope remains unclear.
"We'll see how far he gets with the Legislature," Galvan said. "They have their own competing plan, and it looks like there will be a tug-of-war."
Any potential bond package from the Legislature faces a March 10 deadline to make the June primary ballot.
Just another plan to rip off the states taxpayer.Why don't you pay off the 15 billon that we are in for now from Gov. Doofus flubup.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.