Dear Legislators,
California’s unemployment rate (7.5 percent) is the second highest in the nation and 44 percent higher than the national rate (5.2 percent).
Yet its Gross Domestic Product is growing faster than national GDP.
That’s because states like California with an abundance of technology enterprises can generate lots of GDP growth but not necessarily lots of employment growth. For that, California must make life easier for employment. That requires tinkering with these codes under your control:
You took a step in that direction in 2020 when you amended the Business & Professions code to expand opportunities for nurse practitioners. More amendments should be made, including to provisions that currently protect crony capitalists, raise costs, limit competition, and divert tax revenues to political donors.
Technology and public-sector employment should not be the only paths to economic security in California. Our state should provide a robust employment environment to all residents. You have the power to do that.
