NFIB’s 2022 Small Business Day proved to be highly informative
Nowhere in Sacramento could a more informative one-hour crash course on the major issues affecting Californians and the small businesses that employ them be found than at NFIB’s 2022 Small Business Day at the Capitol, a virtual event that brought together Main Street entrepreneurs from around the state.
The March 8 event was made more momentous by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s State-of-the-State speech later that evening and President Biden’s announcement of a ban on Russian oil, which Assembly Member Vince Fong comments on below.
Fong and State Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk both gave a broad overview of legislative activities and took NFIB members’ questions.
Policy Really Does Matter
Addressing one top-of-the-mind issue, Wilk said, “Crime is spiking everywhere and a lot of that has to do with the policies that have been enacted over the years with AB 109 under Governor Brown that released a lot of prisoners, and I think voters were misled when they approved Proposition 47 and Proposition 57, which, again, released a lot of other people.”
As for California’s lack of water, Wilk said, “We’re in a drought in California because of a lack of action by Sacramento.”
Energy Independence
“The important thing to note in this whole discussion about energy is that we in California are an energy island,” Fong informed the Small Business Day gathering, “so if there’s an increase in oil production in North Dakota and Texas and in other parts of the United States, we don’t benefit because we don’t have the infrastructure the comes to California, so we have to do it ourselves.”
And, we can, according to Fong. “There are thousands of permits before the governor that can increase oil production in California for Californians by Californians. Six percent of our oil comes from Russia … and we can make up the difference if the governor would approve the permits presently before him.”
State Budget Surplus
As for the $6 billion to $26 billion state budget surplus that California will have this year, Fong cautioned, “The fact there’s a surplus in the state of California doesn’t mean the economy is healthy, it just means the state of California collects taxes very well.”
One tax the state has collected very well is the personal income tax. According to Fong, “We get 46% of our general fund from 144,000 people.”
Fong and Wilk fielded members’ questions on a variety of issues, including the cost of the new Capitol building, small business grants, the unemployment insurance trust fund, EDD claims, suspending the state’s fuel tax, homelessness, COVID mandates, and supply-chain issues.
Click the arrow below to watch NFIB’s 2022 Small Business Day at the Capitol.
As an NFIB member, you are part of an organization that is working to defend your right to own, operate and grow your business by levelling the playing field with Big Business, Big Government and Big Labor. Part of the value of your NFIB membership is access to our outstanding events with local, state, and federal lawmakers.
