The Role of State Treasurer: Perspectives from Fiona Ma
- jared2766
- Sep 3
- 27 min read
Navigating California's Fiscal Landscape with Treasurer Fiona Ma
Welcome to another insightful edition of the Capstone Conversation, where we delve into the intricacies of government affairs. In our milestone 100th episode, host Jared Asch interviews California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, revealing her journey and shedding light on the essential roles her office plays in both state and local affairs.
Fiona Ma's Journey to State Leadership
In this episode, Treasurer Ma introduces herself as the eldest child of immigrant parents, a journey that began when her family relocated from Canada to New York. With a professional background starting at Ernst and Winnie and eventually leading her to establish her own practice, Ma quickly developed a passion for public service. Highlighting her rise in politics, from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to her current role as State Treasurer, Ma's story is one of perseverance and dedication to public duty.
Investing in California's Future
Ma elaborates on the expansive responsibilities of her office. As the state's banker, she manages an annual flow of approximately $3 trillion in taxes, revenues, and fees. With investments reaching $165 billion, mostly in short-term options such as treasuries and commercial paper, Ma's office ensures that California's financial assets are maximized efficiently.
The Treasurer’s Office also plays a crucial role in funding infrastructure, affordable housing, education, and emergency services through strategic bond issuances. Highlighting various programs like the scholarship 529 savings plan and Cal Savers retirement savings, Ma emphasizes on initiatives designed to secure California's future.
Overcoming Economic Challenges
The episode delves into the fiscal dynamics that challenge California, such as rising interest rates affecting city projects and Ma's strategies to counteract these hurdles through state programs offering lower interest and longer payback periods. Furthermore, Ma discusses the unforeseen influx of cash during the pandemic and how it tested the office's investment capabilities.
Balancing Investment and Risk
Discussing her collaboration with the Controller and Governor's office, Ma explains how these partnerships ensure the state maintains cash flow, prudent investments, and favorable bond sales. The necessity of a stable partnership is a cornerstone of maintaining a balanced budget and effectively managing economic uncertainties.
Urban Development and Economic Initiatives
When Jared engages Ma on urban competitiveness, she discusses state programs like the sales tax exemption and Cal Competes, which encourage businesses to stay and grow in California. Ma stresses the importance of robust economic policies that attract and retain businesses, promote entrepreneurship, and enhance public-private partnerships to fuel state progress.
A Vision for Technology and Education
Ma shares insights on leveraging technology to boost government efficiency and enhance citizen engagement. She touches upon initiatives like digital lockers for foster youth and blockchain for secure document management. On education, Ma underscores her commitment to ensuring that California's higher education system equips the upcoming workforce for future challenges, advocating for internships and curriculum aligned with industry needs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Treasurer Fiona Ma’s extensive dialogue on The Capstone Conversation provides a wealth of knowledge about California's fiscal operations and individual programs that make a considerable impact. Her office’s dedication to advancing economic opportunity, infrastructure, education, and innovation is pivotal for the state’s future.
---
Hashtags:
SEE BELOW FOR A FULL TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to today's episode of the Capstone Conversation. I am your host, Jared Asch, and today I'm honored to be joined by California's State treasurer, Fiona Ma. Welcome.
Thank you,
Jared. So you're statewide elected. You've been elected multiple times to the treasurer position, as well as other statewide and local offices. This is our 100th episode and I am honored to our audience and all of our guests who have participated. I appreciate all your support.
Treasurer Ma, Tell us though, first, who are you and. What's your passion?
Yeah, so, uh, I am the oldest child of immigrant parents. Uh, they met at a church picnic in Canada, Toronto. Uh, settled in New York where I was born and raised, and I, um, you know, uh, went to the Rochester Institute of Technology for undergrad.
And then when my brother and I went to college, my parents said, we will see you out in San Francisco. My maternal grandfather was a minister, and so my mom was an only child, and so my mom's path kind of followed my grandfather and the church. So that's how we ended up here in San Francisco. So I, started my professional career with Ernst and Winnie in the real estate tax group.
Spent five years there, quit and started my own practice and became president of the Asian Business Association. So that was the first time at the age of 28 years old that I actually got involved in politics going down to San Francisco City Hall, went to Sacramento to testify. Uh, bill Clinton was the president at the time, so he convened a White House conference on small business in 1995.
And I started to get really interested in, uh, public service. Um, I was hanging around with a group of Asian, uh, men who basically wanted us to get more involved in politics to, uh, you know, help campaign for the next mayor so that, you know, if that mayor won, we would get appointed to positions, uh, appointment to commissions, for example, and then hopefully after lead into running for office.
But I am the only one. Of that whole entire group that, um, is successful in terms of running for office consistently and still in office, uh, to this day. But it really started with, getting more contracting opportunities for women and minority small businesses back then, which is still my priority. So I think we're gonna be talking about, uh, different small business programs, but even, uh, during the pandemic where the state, my office, uh, received about $28 billion, uh, in federal Grant COVID grant.
Loans, not a lot of small businesses even knew how to apply what was coming, how to prepare for it. And they usually heard about it in a press conference or on the news. And by that time, the money was gone. So we started putting together these resource guides, which I still, um, you know, update, uh, periodically and then go around to different locations, um, around the state to, uh, do these.
Uh, seminars in person, uh, so that, you know, we can meet with the small business owners and they can ask us questions and be able to connect with the different agencies that may be able to help them with grants, loans, or bonds. So. That's kind of where I am. Uh, I started with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, uh, 2002 to 2006, then got elected to the state assembly 2006 to 2012, serving as majority WIP for four years, and Speaker pro tem under two different governors, three different speakers, and the great recession.
Fun times and then, uh, got elected to the state board of equalization as your friendly tax collector representing 25 different counties. And then in 2018, uh, got elected as state treasurer and then reelected in 2022. So I guess I am a serial. A politician, uh, Politico, but I love serving the people. Uh, I love helping, um, constituents, leveling the playing field, and sometimes, uh, helping dreams
come true.
And that's, that's a great background. One thing I read in your bio that you didn't mention is you're a member of the Screen Actor's Guild. So is there like a hidden time where you might have been an actress and on stage, or where does that one come from?
, So I get that question a lot. Yeah. Uh, when Willie Brown was the mayor in San Francisco for eight years, not only did he love films, him and my former boss, John Burton, they loved going to the theater and he even had his own, uh, what is it?
Review. Uh, Willie Brown had his own, uh, movie review column for a while in the San Francisco Chronicle. So when he was the mayor, he. Loved filming. He loves Hollywood. He loved having California in movies 'cause that would attract more, uh, tourists as well as he could do the red carpet parties in San Francisco.
So that also, which could be fun. Yeah. Yeah. It also gave another bump to San Francisco. So he was all about promoting San Francisco. So when these movies. Robin Williams was living here. Uh, Don Johnson and Che Marin had their, um, you know, their TV show here. They were always asking for extras and a lot of times they would be filming in Chinatown.
So they would call a bunch of us and say, Hey, do you want to come out and, you know, be an extra for 14 hours a day and we'll pay you this amount? And so I started doing that and then started doing more of that. And led to getting an agent and head shots and, you know, doing this part-time actually as a side gig.
We all got, you know, a lot of people have two jobs in, in today's world anyway, so that works out well. That's interesting. So tell me more about what does the California Treasurer's Office do? Because most people know it as the fiscal officer, but. Your job goes beyond that. You sit on so many committees, you have so many departments under it.
Tell us a little bit more.
Yeah, so the Treasurer's Office is one of eight statewide elected officials in the Constitution since 1849. So Governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state Attorney General Treasurer, controller, um, uh, superintendent of public instruction, and the insurance commissioner. So my job is the banker.
All of the taxes, revenues, fees, fines, interest, comes into my office about $3 trillion every year. I invest the state's idle funds as well as the idle funds for 2200 local governments and special districts. That portfolio today is about 165 billion, mostly short term investments, treasuries, uh, some commercial paper.
And then I issue the bonds for the state of California and the uc and CSU system. So that goes to build the roads and the bridges and you know, all the different government buildings. Then when, uh, former speaker Jess Unru became treasurer, he said, well, we're sitting on all this money. We should do more.
So today I fund in finance affordable housing. Uh, children's hospitals, emergency crisis beds, public transportation schools, green energy programs, advanced manufacturing, lots of small businesses, as well as four savings programs. Scholarship 5 2 9 for college. Uh, savings. Cal Savers for anyone who is not covered by an an employer retirement savings plan, I have Cal able for people with disabilities.
And our latest is gonna be Hope Accounts for any child who lost a parent due to COVID or and foster youth in the system. For 18 months or more, we will be depositing or they'll be eligible for $3,000 in their college savings accounts. I also sit on CalPERS and Calsters, California Earthquake Authority, the iBank, California Housing Finance Authority, and others.
So essentially, anybody that needs or wants money should call me.
You invest their extra funds, but you help finance projects. What should city officials elected and city staff. No. And what do you find that they're missing? Maybe they don't know something.
I mean, a lot of the, uh, cities, counties, special districts there always need money, and it's mostly for infrastructure or some gap financing that, you know, they initially anticipated the cost would be this, but then because of time and maybe the tariffs it.
Costing more. So, uh, that's what, um, you know, I try to, you know, question them about is, you know, what do you need money for? You know, is it a library? Is it a fire station? Is it a wastewater treatment facility? Things like that. And usually they're like, yes, all of it's, sure. You know, we're trying to rebuild our roads, we're trying to build a swimming pool.
Um, and so then I can try to figure out whether there are programs, um, that they can access, um, so that they can get these projects built.
And so one of the biggest problems as individuals and, and for businesses right now is the rise in interest rates. Does that affect the cities or can you help them build that firehouse or the pool or a city hall building?
At less than seven or 8% interest.
Yeah, so normally our state programs are lower interests and longer payback periods, so definitely, you know, try us first. Uh, we also, from COVID, we also have loan loss reserves and loan loss guarantee programs. So our participating lenders are incentivized to lend out money to people who are having a difficult time accessing traditional capital, because if.
They don't pay it back, the state will pay it back. So it's no skin in the game for, you know, the lender, so to speak. Which is why a lot of people are not getting easy financing is because of the risk. Right? Right. Maybe your credit score isn't great, maybe you know you haven't filed your taxes on time or you know you have some liens or, or you know.
Um, other payments that, uh, you may be, um, uh, obligated, uh, to. That's why these programs are important. And then a third one is collateral support. A lot of businesses don't necessarily have the collateral that the traditional banks are looking for, so we do have collateral support that could help, uh, the client meet their collateral, uh, requirements.
And how often does a city or a water district default on. A project
hardly ever. Okay. Um, yeah, because, uh, normally they either have a revenue source, which is like a revenue bond. Right. Uh, or the general fund. Uh, of that entity, you know, may be on the hook to pay back the money. So it is very rare that cities and counties or special districts, um, you know, default on that type of financing.
But we do have other financing for private sector companies, whether it's garbage, wastewater, um, companies, and sometimes, you know, their. They can't meet their, you know, capital needs or, or delivery, especially during COVID.
Yeah, that lot happened in COVID. So, sounds like your department learned a lot of lessons about keeping cash flowing during COVID.
What are some of those big lessons you learned?
Well, we actually got a lot of cash and so it was very hard to, um. Invest $28 billion and we were able to do it in about four days, and we were one of the last states to get the money. So all these other smaller states got their money first and we're all competing for the same.
Pool of assets, right? Treasuries and, and notes and um, and so it was, uh, very difficult. So I would say that was one of the lessons learned is that even though we, uh, we were kind of last in line, we would've liked to have been first in line for the next time, so that next time we could get better rates.
Right in our investments. 'cause every day we are investing to the penny. We have not a penny sitting in our account, uh, by mid-morning. So we're competing against other, uh, localities.
How do you balance that risk? Because you're using money that is geared towards other programs, whether it's infrastructure development or state employee salaries.
How do you balance investment and risk?
So the controller is. My counterpart. In most states, the treasurer and the controller are together, but because California's such a big state, they had split up the duties. So the controller pays the bills, so she's the one that writes a check. So every day we know how much money.
She needs. Um, it used to be clockwork, but these days we're not really sure, depending on what happens in the news, I guess. But normally we would know that the controller needs x, you know, millions, billions, uh, of dollars. Uh, we send it over to the controller and then we invest the rest. So it's really a very close partnership.
And then the third leg of our financial stool is the governor's office, the Department of Finance. So the governor's in charge of putting together the budget every year, and the legislature has an opportunity to tweak it but not really overhaul the entire budget. And so the three of us, department of Finance, governor's office controller, and myself are the three agencies that, you know, have to make sure we have enough cash flow, make sure that we're investing our assets to the highest, uh, and best use.
Making sure that when we sell bonds we are, you know. Going out, uh, to the market and getting the best rates possible for the people of California. So we're always, uh, you know, working together. I chair 17 committees. Uh, those two control agencies are on all of my committees. Um, so we really do work in tandem in terms of what is working and what is not working and who needs money for what.
Okay. Let's talk about, um. What are some of those 17 agencies? You, you named some of them earlier. You got the 5 29 plan, that helps a lot of people, , with their college investment. What's your role in that? I, it's a private company that sort of does it. I just deposit money. Okay's my choice. But what's, what's your
role?
So let's take scholarship 5 2 9. That's California's official savings. Plan. So, uh, once you sign up, uh, with our scholarship, 5, 2, 9, that is your account or your child's account, depending on, um, how you hold the account. And then, uh, you can decide what type of investments. You want to, uh, be in for your money, like a retirement account, right?
Do you wanna be aggressive? Do you want to be an international? Do you want to be in a green fund? So you make that decision. And then we have investment advisors, third party. Through an, um, an RFP, they manage the money. We have monthly meetings that are public. We have public board members, and we go over, uh, the, how the, the investments are doing, you know, where their funds, um, have dropped maybe in ratings and maybe we have to, uh, you know, not.
Advise putting money into that certain fund. We like to look at what the returns are, how many people are putting in money, how many people are taking out money. Um, all of that comes out in a, um, regular meeting, but it is really managed by a third person, uh, financial institution under the treasurer's office though.
The accounts are yours. You can take it whenever you want. You have oversight
and protection. Yes.
Oversight and protection. And we were able to change the law a couple years ago so that if their parent, if a parent goes to bankruptcy, they no longer can take the money in a scholarship 5 2, 9 oh to pay off that bankruptcy.
So it is now protected. 'cause we feel why should the child be, uh, penalized if the parents. Fall into bankruptcy, that this is money that's really set aside for them and their future.
And along those lines, you talked about the, hopefully scholarship where you're depositing money in for foster kids.
Maybe some first generation people talk more about where did that idea come from
Yes. So that idea was Senator Nancy Skinner's idea, uh, during COID she realized that, um, people were passing away because of COVID ID. Um, you know, leaving their kids, uh, without any sort of safety net. So that was really the incentive is for kids who lost a parent or child, uh, parent or guardian due to COVID.
And then the second one is foster youth. We all know that foster youth, uh, have a very, very difficult, um, time at the age of 18. They're supposed to be emancipated. Uh, and so this was really a way to give them a little extra, uh, money. Just in case they needed it for their college or, you know, their, uh, apprenticeship programs and they can use the money up to 26 years old.
It gives them a little bit of flexibility so that they're not dropped from the roles at 18.
A lot of community college students in the state are actually like 24 I think is the average, or 25 is the average age. That's good that it gives them flexibility to get their feet under them.
100 Episodes, I am honored. To my listeners please share this or your favorite episode with a friend, repost it on LinkedIn and please leave a review on your favorite podcast app.
Talk about some of the, the. Other programs you talked about you sit on CalPERS, California, there's a lot of concerns that cities don't have enough funds set aside for retirement. How big of a problem is that still? What is the state doing? What are you doing to help balance that?
, So. Uh, when Jerry Brown was the governor, he made a number of reforms to our pension and, uh, uh, retirement systems.
Um, basically raising the age and, you know, changing the payment, uh, for newer employees so that we can maintain the system. Right now, CalPERS and Calsters, uh, it's estimated that they will both be fully funded by about 20 45, 20 50, and. That is based on an investment return of 6.8% in CalPERS and 7% in Calsters.
As long as uh, we meet those, uh, returns, then city and counties. They know what their formula is. Also, uh, you know, the retirees, uh, employees putting in, um, we all know what the formula is, so it's very, very stable. It's if we don't meet the 6.8 or 7% rate of return, that's where now everybody else has to also put in more money.
So that's what we're talking about. But luckily since COVID, we've been doing pretty good. We've. Hit both of those, uh, uh, return rates. And so, uh, the cities, uh, should be, um, pretty stable as long as they've been consistently budgeting to put in and able to. Right. It sits in a, um, it sits in a fund. Some of the cities, uh, few years ago, um, took out pension obligation bonds.
Essentially taking out bonds at a lower rates to be able to, you know, invest to invest and make that money so that it is an extra cushion in case something happens with our economy.
That's interesting 'cause you're talking about, right, the, the whole concept of bar of using debt to, to invest, uh, as part of that, which is a whole other argument that.
Probably shouldn't get into here, but it's a little bit more risky. But you're also talking, you said till 2050. With that plan at six, 7%, you're looking at an average of a year over 25 years still.
Right? So a lot of people talk about unfunded liability. Now, if you own a home, your unfunded liability is your principal and interest.
After 25 years, 30 years, that's your unfunded liability. Hmm. Do you have to pay it back today? No. It sits on your balance sheet. But as long as you can pay back your mortgage, your monthly mortgage, that's, then you're gonna be fine. Same concept with CalPERS. Calsters. As long as we make 7%, we're able to, you know, make that, uh, make that amount, we're able to pay all the retirees.
And then fully funded by 2050. Then our systems are gonna be fully funded. And this unfunded liability, um, number, which seems very, very big, but it's not something we have to pay back today. It's over time.
So there's a gap in there, but it's not, um, it's not unachievable at this point because the numbers are, and time is on our side, just like for anybody retiring in the year 2050.
. Look at it long term. Right, exactly. Okay. Let's talk about economic development. I love talking about economic development. How does your office help, um, cities and the state overall compete for economic development? A lot of companies you hear moving out of the state to other places.
How can we use all this money, use this leverage, use these investment mechanisms to help investing companies stay in here?
. So unlike other states, uh, where they're rolling out the carpet, for example, and they have lots of incentive programs or that the governor has the power to, you know, wave or. Uh, certain fees.
, We don't have a lot here in California. One program is our sales tax exemption program, where a company, if they are buying expensive equipment that is going to clean and green our environment, then they can apply to get that sales tax, their sales and use tax waived. So it could be anywhere from 7.25 to 12% in some jurisdictions, so they can.
Save that money to put back into their business for cashflow needs. So it is a game changer. You know, when companies are thinking about where to move, what equipment they're gonna buy, you know how much they're going to have to pay, you know, for, you know, buying that equipment. So it is a good game changer.
The second one is our Cal Competes program, and that is an income tax deferral. So being able to defer your income taxes three to five years. If you are meeting certain criteria, right? Certain industries, certain locations, creating certain amount of jobs. In certain, you know, um, uh, underserved communities, then you can apply to have your, um, income taxes deferred.
So this is good for companies that hire a lot of people that don't necessarily make money upfront.
What companies can qualify and where do they learn more about this?
Um, both of those programs are. Competitive. We do have, uh, usually three rounds of competition. So they should either reach out to my office under the sales tax exemption program.
My website is treasure.ca.gov, and you can just type in sales tax exemption and the program will pop up. The second income tax deferral program is Cal Competes, and that is under the Governor's office, so I would just. Uh, Google Cal competes California, and that should take you to the website.
Let's talk about technology.
You and I have both been in lots of meetings where AI has talked about both from an economic development standpoint, but let's look at your office. How can AI not replace jobs here of staff, but how can it help make you all more efficient? What are you looking at?
Well, so normally, you know, I'm big on producing a monthly newsletter, and so.
Since I've started, I've had a monthly newsletter. I think ai, uh, being able to catch those, uh, you know, grammatical errors or, um. Um, you know, spelling mistakes I think has really helped. 'cause if I'm catching them, that's not good. Right? Um, and, plus I use it every day for my social media. I post on all social media platforms and being able to, uh, make it more interesting or funny or concise.
Um, with the hashtags it saves me a ton of time. We are also looking into digital lockers. For our hope accounts, this is for the foster youth. 'cause that's what we heard from these youth, is that when they kick get kicked out of a home, sometimes they don't have any paperwork, they don't have their id, they don't have their original birth certificate, they don't have a passport, they don't have an original social security number.
Those documents are what it takes to get a driver's license or a California id. So can you imagine? You get kicked out, you have no money, you have no id, where are you gonna go? And a lot of the kids that are on the street are former foster kids homeless now. Interesting. So being able to have all of their information on their phone, which is what we all have easily accessible.
So if they do get robbed or they lose their id, they'll be able to access. Continue to access their programs and services much more easily. So we're looking into digital lockers, uh, right now. And, um, blockchain, you know, blockchain and cryptocurrency kind of came to the forefront at the same time. I think people were skeptical, skeptical about digital assets, but they linked it to blockchain, which is not kind of the same.
They're linked together, but they're not the same. Right? But blockchain is powerful and we are looking at ways that we can use blockchain to better protect, you know, the information, the recordings that are, you know, um, like birth certificates or property ownership. Those actually could be put on blockchain.
. Um, talk about the state overall. There's, you know, we all know the state goes up and down with the budget and there's a lot of reasons for that from your office perspective. Talk us through that. Explain that to the local person out here who's listening that doesn't know what you and I know.
Okay. So our budget is highly dependent on personal income tax. Corporation tax and sales taxes. 90% of our general fund is dependent on those three factors. So during COVID, let's take COVID for example. Everyone was home. We did not travel, but we still bought things online. We still ordered food. We still bought cars and trucks, right?
Because a lot of the expenses, you know, were deferred like auto loans. And so why not buy another car, which. You know, generate a lot of sales taxes. So sales taxes were, you know, skyrocketing. Then because we were home, all these tech companies needed to develop the latest Zoom and uh, you know, Microsoft teams.
So they were all hiring people, and those people get paid quite well. Right. And then some of them were still IPO-ing stock options, offering stock options and bonuses. So that really helped our general fund. And then the companies when they're making money, mostly the tech companies, you know, they were also generating, uh, good corporate, uh, revenues.
And then the stock market was down at that time, so people were buying and trading capital gains is a large portion of our budget, uh, as well as buying and selling assets, houses, boats, whatever it was. 'cause the interest rates were so low. Right. Right. And so there was a lot of, uh, capital gains, uh, occurring.
So that's why during COVID, we had a $46 billion surplus the first year, and then the second year was almost double that 96 billion. Those are record surpluses, uh, in the state of California. But what goes up comes down. And so now we are going the other way. Right? After all of the federal COVID relief money stopped.
People are supposed to be coming back to work. Uh, tech companies, traditional tech companies started laying off people because they weren't coming to work and they didn't need all this new technology. Um, we lost a lot of business due to Hollywood 'cause people couldn't film, you know? . Uh, so small businesses also weren't able to defer their rent, and so a lot of them shut down and they still haven't opened.
Um. So a lot of issues, you know, affecting, you know, why we have a, a deficit, uh, right now. So that's something to be aware of. I know people talk about millionaires and billionaires, you know, leaving the state. Yes, it does affect our bottom line because they typically pay, you know, higher taxes and, you know, generating, uh, you know, more sales taxes than most buying fancier cars, et cetera.
Um, so that does really hurt. And then when companies leave as well. No longer are they registered or headquartered in California, they're registered someplace else. So those revenues are not coming to the state.
That's probably one of the bigger ones that's left the state in recent years. Yeah.
I know even the city of Fremont was telling me if Tesla were to stop produce manufacturing here, it would impact them. 'cause they make a, a small percentage of revenue on every car. Sold anywhere in the world from there.
Exactly, and most of the workers live in that area as well. So they're paying income tax, they're staying and shopping and in the neighborhood.
So it really would affect Fremont.
. So when you look ahead to the future, what does California do to balance all of that? Or is it just, Hey, even though we're reading these huge deficits, it's okay because we plan for it. What do you want people to know?
Well, Jerry Brown, when he was governor after the great Recession, uh, he set, created four rainy day funds, which we have maxed out.
So, you know, this governor has tried to increase the limits in terms of how much money we can put in. So I think. Proponent of savings. Also, you have to think about the revenue side, attracting investors. So many investors want to come to California. They don't know where, they don't know how, but they have a business, they have a business plan.
They just need a little handholding. And so I do a lot of that in terms of matchmaking with those cities and counties that want certain jobs where they want. Those jobs, which ones are easier to work with? Because some of them could take years to get a permit, some could be permitted, uh, much quicker.
Right? Uh, so I think that is really important that we do more in attracting businesses and telling people that California is open for business. And I think because of our size, because we're the fourth largest economy in the world. We've got the most diverse, um, you know, constituent base workforce. Uh, we want to work.
We're entrepreneurial. People are willing to work three jobs, you know, for that better. Um, you know, better economic, uh. Um, life that people wanna come to California if they have a choice, regardless of all the other issues that people talk about. The weather. Right? Right. The diversity. The weather's great.
The weather's great. And you know, pretty much, you know, if you wanna achieve the American dream, you can still achieve it here in California.
A lot of foreign investment that California attracts. 'Cause it's size. and reputation
The movie stars. Okay, well welcome here, we'll take you. And so I think that's important. So you talked about handholding some of them and helping make introductions for them. How does that scale larger?
Yeah, so, um, you know, we have a very, uh, robust consult, general core. I think we have 73 as of today that we know of in the state of California.
So these consulates are, should be the first entree in for any of these, uh, countries, people from these countries to come and do business with California the next. Step is do these consulates know who to call for that assistance, you know, to connect them with my office or GoBiz or some of the incentive programs.
So that's what we have been trying to do, uh, with others, uh, with Chambers, with economic development councils, you know, with the many conferences that are out there trying to, you know. Um, showcase, uh, you know, why they should come to California. Lots of family offices, private equities out here. I mean, Silicon Valley, Silicon Beach, et cetera.
So we have a lot of things going for us. We just have to better promote and hopefully. Create incentives for people to come here and to stay here instead of leaving, um, if they are, you know, frustrated, for example.
I was talking to, uh, a startup recently that moved from Tampa to here, and I asked just.
Why did they go this way? And they said, because of all the private equity and venture out here. And he said, there's not even a direct flight from SFO to Tampa on a daily basis, so none of them want to come to me and and do a meeting here. It was just easier to be where all the money was, where the investors were, where people were thinking about savvy technology companies than in Florida.
Another. Young man I met, he had a number of tech startups and he was living in Florida in Puerto Rico. And finally he moved back and someone said, well, you're moving back. You're making money, you're gonna pay higher taxes, you know, what do you think? And he was like, I don't care about that. You know, I need to be in a, uh, environment where I am stimulated every single day and where I can hire people who are just as motivated as I am.
To reach that end product. And you can't find that type of talent in other states at this moment.
Right? No, and that's why you probably see a company like Meta Facebook, right? They still keep, they open up offices in all these states, but they still keep their brain trust and core here. Yes. In California, because this is where that action is happening, where the other like minds, that's why the life science companies flourish here.
That's why AI is building the top of AI in the Bay Area.
So. You know, that is a lesson to legislators, right? As we figure out, you know, ai, it's scary for some people. Some people, you know, fully accept it. Uh, but when there's a problem, you know, that's where legislators jump in, is trying to fix the problem
and we have to just be very careful that we don't stymie, uh, you know, that type of entrepreneurial spirit, uh, because. They can move, companies can move, individuals can move, especially after COVID now as we have seen. So we wanna keep people here in California with that robust ecosystem where they are, you know, feeling like they are with like-minded people that are, you know, working hard to achieve whatever they wanna achieve.
That goes for this. Cities that are listening, if you're a city or county official listening to this, keep that in mind because you say you want to embrace innovation, but most of your IT directors are, um, scared because they don't wanna make a cybersecurity thing. But how do you embrace innovation if you don't?
And it's worse if your employees are using chat, GBT or Google Unregulated versus if you embrace new products that can help you do staff be more efficient. Technology shouldn't be replacing staff. It should be, um, complimenting them, helping them do their jobs better. And there's a lot of tools out there for that.
I was talking to some folks and you, um, they're challenging, right? A lot of these AI tools, but you really have to be an expert so that you know, whether that AI. Response is real, or it's a hallucination, which is what we are finding. So you still need. The experts. Yes. And people who understand.
It's not like AI is gonna do something without some sort of command, right. From an individual. So it's a great tool. But as local elected officials and others that want to understand finance better, uh, one of my agencies, the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, we produced eight modules.
To try to, uh, educate local elected officials about, you know, bonds, about their, you know, fiscal responsibility. 'cause ultimately, anything that happens in government, if you are the elected official, you are still health liable regardless of whether you know nothing. About that topic. Mm-hmm. Cybersecurity.
If someone steals money, you can't say, well, it wasn't my job. Well, it was your job to ask the questions. How vulnerable are we to cybersecurity? How you know, how much you know, you know, who's been auditing us? You know, what type of redundancies are there? That, um, we're not vulnerable. These are the questions elected officials should be asking.
'cause you're not off the hook if, um, your city, county, or special district has a cyber attack.
That's an I important takeaway, um, for everybody. I know you're, uh, running outta time. What other thing that I haven't asked you about yet do you want to touch on and share?
Well, um, I think one of the key.
Uh, assets that we have is our education higher education system, so our uc, CSU community college boards, um, they are our crown jewel. However, it is getting expensive for some people and you know, how do we keep student loan debt low so that these folks, you know, aren't graduating with high student loan debt?
But how are we offering those? Programs that are gonna prepare the next generation for the jobs that are out there. And I think there's more opportunities for public-private partnerships with, uh, the industry leaders, uh, the companies that are coming here, but they need to have the talent pool. You know, they don't have the talent pool, then they're gonna go someplace else.
So that is incumbent on us to stay ahead of the game and not just offer. You know, certificates or diplomas in jobs or industries where these young people cannot find jobs. And a lot of parents and students come up to me and say, I'm having a hard time. You know, I, I went to a good school, I had good grades, but now I can't seem to even get an interview.
There's hundreds of people that are applying. You know, how do I, you know, how do I navigate, you know, how do I get that job? Part of it is specializing. Part of it is interning. Um, I wanna get these companies more engaged so that they will provide help, write the curriculum, provide mentorship.
Provide paid internships so that when you know, our folks graduate, they actually see a pathway for why they're going, uh, to school to get a four year degree, for example. So, you know, that I think is a challenge because of everything that is moving so fast. Yeah. Is how do we prepare this next generation to meet those, uh, demands that are out there.
I think that's a great lesson. And as a father of three daughters, I think about that every day Is, is how do I get them ahead? What can we do now so that in 10 years they're ready for what the world brings.
Right. Otherwise you'll be working till you're very old.
Well, 'cause I have three daughters. I'm gonna be working till I'm very old
but, uh, I appreciate that. Treasurer Fiona Ma, thank you for joining me today. for episode 100 of the Capstone Conversation
Thank you. Thank you, Jared.
Wait, don't leave yet. Hit subscribe. Make sure you get the weekly updates. We have a new episode every Wednesday for stuff happening in the East Bay. In the meantime, follow me on LinkedIn, Jared Asch, or check out our firm where we have a weekly newsletter and blog at Capstone Government Affairs on LinkedIn.
Thanks for joining us today on the Capstone conversation.
Comments