At a pivotal time of transition and crisis for the state, PPIC -- in partnership with leading corporate and philanthropic partners -- will host a conference on California's future. This all day event includes keynote speeches and expert panels on education, climate change, the economy, and governance.
Moderator: Kai Ryssdal, Marketplace, American Public Media
Esmael Adibi, A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research, Chapman University Carl Guardino, Silicon Valley Leadership Group Van Jones, Center for American Progress Fred Ruiz, Ruiz Food
Bio
Esmael Adibi
Esmael Adibi, director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research and Anderson Chair of Economic Analysis at Chapman University, received his doctorate degree in Economics from Claremont Graduate University. He joined the Chapman faculty in 1978, and was appointed director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research in 1985.
His research interests include macroeconomics, financial markets, and regional economics. Dr. Adibi has co-authored two textbooks, Econometric Analysis - An Applications Approach, and The Practice of Econometrics with EViews. His articles have been published in newspapers including The Los Angeles Times, and the Orange County Register, as well as professional journals such as International Advances in Economic Research, the Journal of Private Enterprise, and the Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics.
Dr. Adibi is past president of the Association for University Business and Economic Research. He is a member of the NABE Outlook Survey Panel and Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast Panel. He serves on the board of managers of the OCTFCU Mortgage Company.
Carl Guardino
Carl Guardino, one of Silicon Valley's most distinguished business and community leaders, is the President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a public policy trade association that represents more than 300 of Silicon Valley's most respected companies.
In February 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Guardino to a four-year term on the California Transportation Commission. He also serves on numerous other boards and is actively involved in a wide range of community organizations and projects. In 2000, the San Jose Mercury News named Guardino one of the "Five Most Powerful" people in Silicon Valley in a once-per-decade study.
Guardino has been the chief executive of the Leadership Group since 1997. He previously served as a vice president with the organization between 1991 and 1995. In between, he held an executive position in governmental affairs with Hewlett Packard. Earlier, he spent six years on the staff of Central Valley Assemblyman Rusty Areias, the last three as his chief assistant.
Van Jones
Van Jones is a globally recognized, award-winning pioneer in human rights and the clean-energy economy. Jones is a co-founder of three successful non-profit organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change and Green For All. He is the best-selling author of the definitive book on green jobs: The Green-Collar Economy. He served as the green jobs advisor in the Obama White House in 2009.
Jones is currently a senior fellow at the Center For American Progress. Additionally, he is a senior policy advisor at Green For All.
Jones also holds a joint appointment at Princeton University, as a distinguished visiting fellow in both the Center for African American Studies and in the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Jed Kolko
Jed Kolko is Associate Director and Research Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.
Frederick Ruiz
Frederick Ruiz is Chairman Emeritus and Co Founder of Ruiz Foods, Inc. Ruiz Foods is a privately held frozen food company founded in 1964; headquarters in Dinuba California with two additional facilities in Tulare, California and Denison Texas.
Mr. Ruiz held the position of Chairman of the Board at Ruiz Foods since 1998; he previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President of the company. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Ruiz Foods, McClatchy Newspapers, University of California Board of Regents, California Chamber of Commerce and San Joaquin Valley Partnership.
Additional business and community affiliations include; 2009 Chairman of the California Chamber of Commerce; Board of Trustees, University of California Merced; President's Advisory Board, California State University, Fresno; Founding Board Member of The California Endowment, The Hispanic College Fund and The Tulare Kings Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Ruiz was appointed as a Regent in 2004 by Governor Schwarzenegger.
Kai Ryssdal
Kai Ryssdal is the host of Marketplace, a business program that airs weekdays on U.S. public radio stations. Marketplace is produced and distributed by American Public Media. He took over in August 2005, replacing David Brown. Before hosting Marketplace, he was host of the Marketplace Morning Report, a 10-minute business roundup.
Measures employed by governments to stabilize the economy, specifically by adjusting the levels and allocations of taxes and government expenditures. When the economy is sluggish, the government may cut taxes, leaving taxpayers with extra cash to spend and thereby increasing levels of consumption. An increase in public-works spending may likewise pump cash into the economy, having an expansionary effect. Conversely, a decrease in government spending or an increase in taxes tends to cause the economy to contract. Fiscal policy is often used in tandem with monetary policy. Until the 1930s, fiscal policy aimed at maintaining a balanced budget; since then it has been used “countercyclically,” as recommended by John Maynard Keynes, to offset the cycle of expansion and contraction in the economy. Fiscal policy is more effective at stimulating a flagging economy than at cooling an inflationary one, partly because spending cuts and tax increases are unpopular and partly because of the work of economic stabilizers. See alsobusiness cycle.
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