CALIFORNIA, FINANCIAL CAPITAL? : FONG SAYS STATE CAN SURPASS N.Y.Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer With global trading a major portion of California's economy, state Treasurer Noun 1. state treasurer - the treasurer for a state government financial officer, treasurer - an officer charged with receiving and disbursing funds Matt Fong Matt Fong (Chinese: 鄺傑靈; pinyin: Kuàng Jiélíng) (November 20, 1953–) is a Republican political leader from California and former state treasurer. said Friday he wants to make better use of about $400 billion in public pension funds to boost the state's economy and make California the nation's investment capital. ``We already are the world's sixth-largest economy, and we have come out of the recession stronger than we were,'' Fong said at a breakfast meeting with political reporters. ``I think we are in a position where we can move the nation's financial center from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to California.'' Fong recently called a meeting of all pension fund managers, urging them to take advantage of their resources to invest in California firms as well as Pacific Rim Pacific Rim, term used to describe the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and the island countries situated in it. In the post–World War II era, the Pacific Rim has become an increasingly important and interconnected economic region. countries from Singapore to Japan to China. ``We have not a California-first policy, but a policy where we should invest 12 percent of our money into California businesses,'' Fong said. ``The state represents about 12 percent of the gross domestic product, and we think it's appropriate to invest that amount. ``We also should be looking, carefully, but looking at investing in the Pacific Rim. We handle 80 percent of the trade to Asia, and we have to recognize we are a global economy.'' Fong also proposed that any state investment in the Far East have strings attached, such as requiring that California firms be hired in any contracts. The state, which is slowly emerging from a four-year recession caused primarily by defense cutbacks, is particularly well poised to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. global trade, Fong said. Because of the economic restructuring restructuring - The transformation from one representation form to another at the same relative abstraction level, while preserving the subject system's external behaviour (functionality and semantics). , he said, the state is not as reliant on federal spending and is in a stronger position for investment. ``We should act like Chicago did when it formed the commodities and futures markets futures market, a commodity exchange where contracts for the future delivery of grain, livestock, and precious metals are bought and sold. Speculation in futures serves to protect both the developers and the users of the commodities from unfavorable and unpredictable and took it away from New York,'' Fong said. ``We have our own stock exchange, and we could create our own version of the Nasdaq in California.'' On a related matter, Fong said he supports the principle behind Gov. Pete Wilson's proposal to cut personal income taxes by 15 percent, but Fong stopped short of endorsing it. |
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