Andrew Myrick, manager of the new Salinas Valley Enterprise Zone, has an Op-Ed in the Californian:

…In the midst of this recession, other states are expanding their enterprise zone programs and are implementing incentives that are focused on attracting businesses from California. It is absolutely imperative that California have a meaningful and useful economic development program to fight back. The enterprise zone program is just that.

Professor Charles Swenson from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business confirms that enterprise zones work. His research found that California’s enterprise zone program decreases unemployment rates, boosts wage, salary and household incomes and decreases poverty rates. Another study by the California Department of Housing and Community Development found that poverty rates and unemployment declined and incomes increased more in enterprise zones than in the rest of the state.

That is exactly why the city of Salinas and its partnering communities worked hard to obtain a designation as an enterprise zone. As part of our commitment to economic development, the Salinas Valley Enterprise Zone is partnering with the Monterey County OneStop Career Center to help match qualified employees with eligible businesses and put people back to work.

Additionally, the Salinas Valley Enterprise Zone will soon start aggressively marketing the benefits of the zone to existing businesses. A new entity, the Salinas Valley Economic Development Corporation, is being formed to attract new businesses to the area.

As our state looks for ways to solve its financial crisis, our decision makers should focus on increasing employment opportunities and growing our economy. Designating the Salinas Valley as an enterprise zone is a step in the right direction. Our entire region, and now the state, is committed to enhancing residents’ quality of life by revitalizing distressed communities and creating high-paying jobs.

By encouraging businesses to stay in the Salinas Valley and attracting new ones, the Salinas Valley will be able to diversify and grow its local economy and ensure that the region has a healthy economy.