Innovation Economy Symposium Highlights Role of Government Investment in Economic Growth

Symposium brings prominent local and national figures together to discuss economic development issues.

By Andy Cohen Congress is a mess right now. There are many, many problems that this iteration of the federal government of the United States is being called upon to solve with very little hope of actually solving them. This Congress is so dysfunctional that they can’t even pass legislation to pay the government’s already agreed upon financial obligations, let alone fund new projects or provide basic services. Major legislation would seem to be out of the question entirely. Whether conservatives like to admit it or not, the American economy is dependent in many ways on government investment; on government’s willingness to invest. It was with this in mind that Congressman Scott Peters brought together an “innovation economy symposium” yesterday at UCSD. The symposium featured leaders from the local business community, including former mayor Jerry Sanders, currently the President/CEO of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce; Mark Cafferty, the head of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation; Holly Smithson, the President and COO of CleanTECH San Diego; Magda Marquet, the board chair of BIOCOM; John Dunn, a member of the Board of Directors at CONNECT; and Steny Hoyer, the House Minority Whip and second ranked Democrat in the House of Representatives behind Nancy Pelosi. The event was hosted by UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla.