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My email to the writer of the article:

Mr. Swett,

I thought your article was very interesting. Thank you for writing it.

However, I couldn't help but notice that you contrasted the California Business Roundtable report with comments from "economists," one of whom you quoted (Stephen Levy, director at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto). I did not understand your comment about the report not mentioning "cutting funding for higher education" and not "cutting transportation funding," factors economists said were "critical to business growth in California."

I have read many comments from small business owners in California (the owner of Hungry Howie's in Clovis, California for one), and my brother-in-law, in addition to the CBR's report. I myself was once the owner of a lumberyard in Illinois. I have also been involved with business planning for a number of companies. I have to tell you that public policy issues such as public transportation and higher education are almost never factors in how a business is going to survive and what to do to minimize costs to the business itself. Concerns are almost always: lowering payroll costs; reducing waste; seeking new sales opportunities; reducing taxes and regulatory costs; and finding information in the financial reports that indicates money leakage (theft, damage, spoilage, etc.).

Arizona, where I live, has only three public universities, an average number of community colleges, and no major private universities. Public transportation is minimal. Yet our economy is growing faster than any other state except Nevada, which is also growing rapidly even though it has a similar situation to Arizona's. How would Mr. Levy explain this? Did you ask him, in order to challenge his assumptions?

I guess I saw the comments about "cutting funding for higher education" and "cutting transportation funding" as a non sequitur. I've never seen these factors listed in the SBA's business plan template. What does one have to do with the other? How do these factors relate to a business's balance sheet or a company's business plan? I didn't think your article made the economist's case for me, and I'm not sure any business owners would see the connection, either. It made the economist look like an ostrich with his head in the sand, hanging on to his old prejudices about higher taxes being needed... again.

Far more germaine to the point are the factors mentioned by the California Business Roundtable. It seems to me if you strangle existing small businesses with onerous regulations, high taxes and exhorbitant workman's compensation fees, it reduces the ability of the state's economy to recover. This is what the business people are saying. I hope someone has the sense to listen to them.

I also hope California recovers from its recession someday, but I am not optimistic it will, if economists like Mr. Levy continue to look at irrelevant factors and yet have the ear of the state legislature. Someone needs to listen to the business owners, who actually employ people and produce the income that is the backbone of the economy, to learn where the real problems are.