Reagan Library economic forum covers variety of topics
A national economic forum was held May 29-30 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
The two-day event featured panel discussions on a variety of topics including AI and economic growth and China and the U.S., and a keynote address by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.
Another panel discussed barriers, including permits and regulations, to building more homes around the country, including the Central Coast with its affordable housing dearth.
Los Angeles billionaire developer Rick Caruso was a member of that panel.
“We would love to do more projects in Santa Barbara,” he told the Business Times.
“We love the Santa Barbara community,” he said. “But beyond the retail and workforce housing project that we’re doing right next to the Miramar, not yet.”
Caruso opened the Miramar Resort in Montecito in 2019.
He filed a formal application in late May with Santa Barbara County’s planning department to build a mixed-use project on the property’s parking lots with 26 affordable employee housing units, eight higher-end apartments and boutiques.
During the housing panel discussion, Caruso bemoaned how long it’s taking to start rebuilding the thousands of Pacific Palisades homes lost in January’s disastrous wildfire.
“You would think that there would be an expedited process to get building permits,” Caruso, who unsuccessfully ran for Los Angeles mayor in 2022, said.
“We’re four months into this now,” he said. “Only 58 permits have been processed.
“Isn’t that crazy?” he said.
To help expedite the process, Caruso said he formed the nonprofit Steadfast LA.
Wright said that during the Biden Administration, there was virtually no growth in electricity production.
“Yet the price went up 25%,” he said.
“That changes the quality of life for Americans,” he said. “It changes the ability to do business in the United States.”
President Donald Trump understands that “if you have a low-cost energy advantage over other nations, you increase the quality of living of your people,” Wright said.
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