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INVEST & INNOVATE

A New Way to Think About High Speed Rail

I was on the original consultant team in 1998. I thought the project design and ridership projections had serious flaws. I voted against the high speed rail (HSR)...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Nov. 18, 2017
Last comment by Philip Clock, on Dec 2, 2017 at 7:33 pm | 19 comments | 15262 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

The Retail Implications of the Comp Plan

The retail scene is changing. Online sales have led to large numbers of store closings all around the country—in affluent and less affluent areas alike. Shopping...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Nov. 4, 2017
Last comment by PA Grandma, on Nov 11, 2017 at 9:53 pm | 12 comments | 12801 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

The Fiscal Implications of the Comp Plan

A fiscal impact study was conducted on Comp Plan alternatives that include a range of growth both higher and lower than the council’s preferred growth scenario. The...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Oct. 27, 2017
Last comment by Chris, on Nov 2, 2017 at 7:44 pm | 8 comments | 10458 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

The Comp Plan EIR--Pluses and Minuses

On Monday October 23rd the city council will begin review of the final Environmental Report (EIR) of the new Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan). The EIR has three...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Oct. 22, 2017
Last comment by chris, on Oct 26, 2017 at 7:29 pm | 23 comments | 12483 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

The President's Proposals for Legal Immigration Reform are Bad Economic Policy

President Trump has proposed to reform the legal immigration system by: --restricting family based immigration --keeping the 140,000 labor market based admissions...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Aug. 2, 2017
Last comment by Jose Pen, on Sep 25, 2017 at 9:16 am | 39 comments | 15039 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

My Quality of Life on this Father's Day

My family and I are blessed with good health. My quality of life is enhanced by 40 wonderful years with my wife Nancy. Today on FaceTime I was reminded of how much...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Jun. 18, 2017
Last comment by stephen levy, on Jun 21, 2017 at 4:31 pm | 3 comments | 12095 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

California Economic Trends and Policy Implications

Between 2012 and 2016 California captured 17.1% of U.S. job growth and 23.6% of U.S. GDP growth. While the Bay Area was the growth leader, the rest of the state...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Jun. 12, 2017
Last comment by Chris, on Jun 16, 2017 at 8:38 pm | 17 comments | 15592 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

The Joint Venture Proposition 13 Paper

Here is the link to the Joint Venture Index of Silicon Valley including the Special Analysis I wrote on Proposition 13. The purpose of the paper was to explain...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Feb. 11, 2012
Last comment by anne, on Jun 6, 2017 at 2:34 am | 31 comments | 23922 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Benefit Promises that are Hard to Keep

Town Square has been filled with posts about city employee benefits for pensions and health care. The Weekly did a long article on the situation in Palo Alto. There...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Jul. 14, 2012
Last comment by Jon, on Jun 5, 2017 at 1:47 am | 42 comments | 30495 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

All Families Pay Taxes

Every so often someone on Town Square asserts that half of the population does not pay taxes. They see that many families do not earn enough to owe state or federal...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Sep. 15, 2011
Last comment by Tax the man behind the tree, on Jun 4, 2017 at 3:39 pm | 36 comments | 22518 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Help Pick My Next Blog Topic

As an experiment I am interested in readers ranking these three topics for their interest. If a topic is not of interest just leave it off the list These are...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Apr. 5, 2017
Last comment by Peter Carpenter, on Apr 12, 2017 at 10:37 am | 10 comments | 13626 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Property Owners and Developers--What's with all the Demonizing

Shortly before my 75th birthday I became a commercial property owner for the first time. When my mom died I inherited 1/8 of a commercial property in Los Angeles...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Mar. 30, 2017
Last comment by Mr. Peabody, on Apr 7, 2017 at 2:57 pm | 28 comments | 21810 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Housing Impact Fees and the Economy

This is the letter I sent to council. Impact fees to provide funding for subsidized housing for low and moderate income residents should, in my professional opinion,...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Mar. 25, 2017
Last comment by chris, on Mar 30, 2017 at 10:10 pm | 9 comments | 19822 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Correcting Some Misstatements in the Weekly Editorial and op ed Today

I am a member of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) and I attended the council meeting Monday night and watched more at home. Before I get to the editorial...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Feb. 3, 2017
Last comment by Jeff, on Feb 10, 2017 at 11:20 am | 14 comments | 25225 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Letter to Council on Land Use and Transportation Element

thank you for the opportunity for residents to hear and participate in the discussion of council priorities for 2017 I heard two discussions that have high level...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Jan. 29, 2017
Last comment by Jim, on Feb 5, 2017 at 7:23 am | 2 comments | 14062 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Council Priorities for 2017

I thank everyone for the hours you put in to serve the city and look forward to coming to the priority session tomorrow. My top four priorities are: --reducing...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Jan. 27, 2017
Last comment by Chandler , on Jan 29, 2017 at 9:57 pm | 7 comments | 13231 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Response to Arguments Against Measure B

Santa Clara County Measure B proposes to spend $6.3 billion over 30 years for transportation improvements financed by a 1/2 cent increase in the sales tax. The...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Oct. 19, 2016
Last comment by Scott L, on Oct 28, 2016 at 12:34 pm | 21 comments | 20537 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

I am Voting Yes on Measure B the Sales Tax for Transportation

Santa Clara County Measure B proposes a half-cent increase in the sale tax to raise approximately $6.3 billion for transportation investments over the next 30 years....

Original post made by Steve Levy on Sep. 24, 2016
Last comment by Taxpayer, on Oct 22, 2016 at 1:10 am | 38 comments | 23383 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Commercial Developments Do Not Create Jobs

Buildings—offices, hotels, restaurants, stores—do not create jobs. In a first order sense the tenants create the jobs—the businesses and organizations...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Jul. 16, 2016
Last comment by Bliss, on Aug 6, 2016 at 6:13 pm | 17 comments | 26555 Views

INVEST & INNOVATE

Why Don’t More Companies Move or Expand Outside the Bay Area

Some companies have moved or expanded elsewhere. And some residents have moved away to escape the high housing costs. But this has not stopped the region and peninsula...

Original post made by Steve Levy on Jul. 11, 2016
Last comment by Mark Weiss, on Jul 18, 2016 at 4:30 pm | 44 comments | 42062 Views
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