Last week the Governor of the Golden State gave his final State of the State Address before a joint session of the California Legislature.  In this address he laid out plans to spend $500 million on workforce training to create an estimated 100,000 jobs in addition to other measures to stimulate our struggling economy and slow the unemployment rate.  Doing the math, this seems like quite a price to pay for new jobs.
This ambitions spending proposal known as the California Jobs Initiative includes a reduction of sales taxes for the green technology sector.  Solar manufacturing companies can benefit with the discounts on purchasing equipment and this could possibly help this fast growing business sector in the state.  

This doesn’t seem to be enough to inspire those with an entrepreneurial spirit to start a new business or even possibly find a business loan to start or expand a small business.  It seems to be a fatal flaw.  I’m all for re-training a work force for jobs, especially green jobs, but this package includes a green light for the construction of new projects without environmental review.  This just increases the difficulty for opponents to block big construction projects by using environmental regulations, seems to be at odds with the views of the majority of California residents.

Historically in poor economic times inspiration spurs the instinct to start a new enterprise and seize the opportunity of low rent, free time and lack of competition.  This is what inspires innovation that can and will lead be a long term solution to bring our economy out of the red.  

My not so golden state is facing a $21 billion budget gap and high unemployment rates, how is funding such job training if company’s are leaving the state and no jobs are available.  I’d be up for funding new business ventures and once we have new companies, the jobs and training will come.