Tag Archives: Christopher Thornberg

California: An “Economic Powerhouse”

It was a recent article in The New York Times by Tim Arango, Adam Nagourney and Natalie Kitroeff that sung the praises of California’s economic surge.  They began their article by describing California as having:

“the highest concentration of billionaires in the country. It exports more computers than any other state. It is the nation’s largest producer of agriculture products by far: More than $6 billion in dairy products alone last year.”

They referred to California as “an economic powerhouse — now the fifth largest economy in the world after surpassing the United Kingdom in total output this year.”

But their concern is of Jerry Brown’s uncontested successor – Gavin Newsom – and how he will “navigate California through challenging fiscal times could be critical to assuring both the state’s continuing economic durability and its outsize contribution to national prosperity.”

Founding Partner of Beacon Economics, Christopher Thornberg believes that California is reflective of the economy as a whole.  He said:

 “So goes California, so goes the U.S.. It is far and away a dominant source of job growth in the U.S.”

And that’s good because a recent LA Times article noted how employment rates in California are positive too, with an additional 44,80 net jobs and a low of 4.2% in unemployment.  There was an increase in wages but that was  not “enough to top the increase in consumer prices.”

And as SS Economics President said: “California’s economy continues to sizzle.”

LA Job Creation

A lot will change for LA should it win its 2024 Olympic Games bid.  Economically the city’s output would be incredibly impacted – in a positive way.  Various studies have been established to ascertain the potential economic impact such as those by the organizing committee, Los Angeles 2024, Beacon Economics LLC and the UC Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development. Other research has found that close to 80,000 jobs and anywhere potentially $160 million or more in additional tax revenues.  Furthermore, the city’s economic output could be as much as $11.2 billion.

According to Beacon Economics founding partner and UC Riverside Center Director Christopher Thornberg:

“There is little doubt that hosting the Olympics is an enormous boost for a local economy — both in the short term as driven by activity surrounding the events themselves, and in the long term, given how these events raise the global profile of the region. The worry is always that these benefits come at too high a cost, but because Los Angeles already has many of the assets needed for a successful Olympic experience the upside is far greater than it would be for many other cities who would be hosting for the first time.”

Meanwhile a couple of weeks ago, the South LA area encountered the commencement of a new job training program.  This will likely get around 900 unemployed/underemployed residents ready to work The Reef – a mixed-use high-rise. According to Noreen McClendon, executive director of Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles, this marks “an opportunity for us to lift a lot of people out of poverty, with all this concentration of projects in the Ninth District in the next few years.  The tragedy is that our community has been conditioned to believe that there are no opportunities.  We have a lot of people who have criminal backgrounds, and they’re told over and over again that once you have a felony, you can’t get employment.”  Alongside of this is a five week Boot Camp to prepare those who want to get a job with The Reef teaching job etiquette, fiscal responsibility and other fundamental skills.  With this new project, comes an opportunity to train around 1,000 low-income individuals living in the Ninth District to work in construction; a great opportunity for future employment in this thriving industry as well.