February 28, 2008

Rep. Honda hosting State of the Economy

Congressional Rep. Mike Honda will host a meeting on Friday at the City Hall Rotunda on the State of the Economy in Silicon Valley.

This important event begins at 8 a.m. and will run until 10 a.m. addressing the current economic slowdown that is leaving too many Silicon Valley families and businesses struggling just to get by.

Cromwell Schubarth of the Silicon Valley Business Journal will moderate the discussion. A number of local economic experts and business leaders will participate, including:

San Jose District 9 Councilmember Judy Chirco; J. George Doerr, deputy regional director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); Carlos Figueroa, president of the Greater San Jose Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group; Doug Henton, president and co-founder of Collaborative Economics, Inc.; Paul Krutko, San Jose’s chief development officer; and Carl San Miguel, past president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors.

Democrats, Republicans and President Bush joined together to pass a bipartisan economic stimulus package earlier this month that provides tax credits for 130 million families to help jump-start the economy. The stimulus package will also help Americans in danger of losing their homes secure financing and help to create 500,000 new jobs by the end of the year.

We recognize that this is only the first step toward recovery, however, and that solutions to current economic challenges require the input of the entire community.

Honda hopes that many from the city and the county will be able to join the forum for a frank discussion about the state of our economy and the steps that can be taken to improve it.

Honda is eager to hear residents’ personal experiences and the panel’s reaction to the real-life challenges Silicon Valley residents face.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Honda.RSVP@mail.house.gov. For more information about the event, contact Honda’s office at (408) 558-8085.