going forward particularly in the area of violence reduction and gangs. we have heard about the strategies today. we have seen the promise of law enforcement being able to work together with community-based organizations dedicated to violence reduction. this is possible but only of you all get involved. so for those of you that are here and watching at home, get involved and pick up the phone. you can go to our website to keep up with developments, sfpublicdefenderorg. we are creating initiatives around gangs and violence reduction. and applying brain science to the law, and advocating for reform. this is a banner year for criminal-justice. we have the three strikes initiative. we limit it to only serious

offenses. also, the ballot measure, the state measure which will eliminate the penalty. thank you, all of you for coming and for all the volunteers that made this possible. i want to thank the san francisco public library, every year they have provided us with a venue to do this event and also for sfgovtv for putting us on the tube. we will see you again. keep in touch. thank you. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the president of the san francisco chamber of commerce. [applause] >> good morning. based on the energy of the room, i think we could have kept a coffee going for another 30 minutes. good morning, and welcome to the 162nd annual meeting of the chamber of commerce. this morning we have a fast- paced agenda.

today we are happy to present the agenda for jobs, received an economics refrain, featuring a panel including ron conway, his a-rod lacey common on the editor and chief not -- sarah lacey, george hugh, and katie jacob stanton, vice president for twitter the road -- now twitter. we will end the program with the mayor's vision of economic growth for 2012 and beyond. 2011 was a year of substantial

accomplishment, despite the slow pace of recovery in california, the economic opportunities have helped make sense of cisco a bright spot in california to advancing tax incentives to supporting economy-boosting infrastructure, and the chamber is helping to ensure job creation and steady economic growth in san francisco. the chamber is particularly proud to advance an ongoing pro-business policy agenda in partnership with a coalition of business, labour, and non-profit organizations, and i am pleased that our labour colleagues to join us this morning. geared with our labor colleagues just waved for the audience eminent -- would our labor colleagues just waved for the audience? they are out there.

our theme this morning is prosperity to gather. give we helped pass key initiatives, including the tax exemption, a tax exclusion for pre-ipo tech companies, and last but not least, of the school facilities and the street repair bond measure. we helped the rail multiple harmful measures from appearing on the ballot so revenue generation opportunities will stay in place, and we champion who economy-boosting infrastructure that creates jobs including park merced, treasure island, the central subway expansion, a california pacific medical center, a california high-speed rail, and certainly, america's cup. just like the chamber did 75 years ago at this meeting, we

advocated for the building of a world-class sprinter -- bridge. in recent months the foundation program helped launch bio sf, to attract science to the city. goothey have now recruited 13 chinese companies since its debut. thank you to the entire staff. the chamber supported small business growth for our members and provided 250 opportunities for member companies to connect, build relationships, and transact business.

our community partners are collaborating more affectively today than ever before to help and build a vibrant economy for 2012 and for decades to come. today at the annual meeting, we are proud to present our new directors for 2012 and recognize the leadership and contributions of the board. let's recognize all of the board directors that have joined us today. please them for a round of applause -- please stand for a round of applause. thanks again to our diverse and talented board that makes the good work of the chamber possible. good at the helm, driving our

achievements has been the vice president and group manager and the 2011 chamber board share. please join me in welcoming john. [applause] weed rows is going to help me do the honors, and i will introduce him to you in just a couple minutes. on behalf of the entire board and the entire business community, please except this in grave cable car bell in recognition of your service and leadership for 2011 as our share of the board. -- share of the board. congratulations. >> let's ring that bell.

>> what a year we have had. all i can say is the most touching saying is to see all of you here ready to do it again, and i will hand it back around, but i am so pleased about being able to help the city of san francisco thank you so much for >> john was instrumental in helping the chamber of commerce sites more than one battle last year, and now all of us are helping fight a battle of his own. now it is my pleasure to introduce the vice president's for dignity house and the 2012

chair of the chamber of commerce. please welcome wade rose. [applause] >> good morning. it is amazing how you get habituated after years. i have gone from a tactical named to of metaphor, and it is hard to keep alive in mind. i would like to recognize you note for your exceptional leadership of our chamber. now i am going to get a horse going through the list of names

of our friends from the key civic organizations but are with us today, so please hold your applause, because we will never get through breakfast. i want to start with our fantastic mayor, mayor ed lee. willie was supposed to be with us today. the supervisors got wiener. you have been rated as the number one person for commerce, the chamber of commerce scorecard, which is a great accomplishment. supervisor david campos, supervisor david chu, a supervisor carmen shochu,

superintendent garcia, and general manager of rec and park , and greg, your department is rated as high as in san francisco for public approval -- a high as -- the highest in san francisco for public approval. congratulations. the city attorney, the director of the mayor's office of economic development, the executive director of the san francisco county transportation authority, chief of staff, nancy pelosi .

director of transportation, director of parks, the board of education director, vince courtney, who jim paulsen. we would also like to welcome our business associates and colleagues today. of course art swanson from the small business network. thank you for your commitment and for working with us to events are common goals. -- to advance our common goals.

we could not sponsored today's key events without sponsors, so i would like to start by recognizing our presenting sponsor, j. p. morgan chase. we want to thank our host sponsor, pacific gas and electric. dignity howff, kaiser permanente . thank you to all of our sponsors. i am supposed to wait six seconds so everyone can read this list. have we screamed through that? it is quite a long period --

quite long. united airlines, union bank, and our media sponsors, the san francisco examiner and hers media services -- hearst media sponsors. thank you very much. i could not do it without you, so today we celebrate the successes this chamber has accomplished and the promise of greater successes ahead with our team this morning of prosperity, business, labour, and government united, because that is the key to making the city viable and sustainable, and with our new mayor across more business- friendly, economic-friendly, we

are all working together to a common goal with sharon priorities, and that is truly a formula for prosperity and improving the well-being of all san franciscans. the 2012 city beat poll survey of san francisco voters found that some franciscans are very optimistic about the future, but they remain concerned about homelessness, panhandling, and the economy, and public transportation. the trends are going the right direction. the good news is 58% of voters think san francisco is going in the right direction, and the highest since march, 2007, so we are moving in the right direction. only 28% are pessimistic, compared to 38% concerned last

year. quality of life scores are up with 70% of voters saying the quality of life in the city is getting better or the same, but we have a quarter of folks who say quality of life has decreased. jobs and the economy continued to be ranked as the top issue for the city. about 24% of workers, second only to homelessness. the local economy and quality of life have improved, and we hope that all of you will join the chamber and the center for economic development as we work together to create jobs and create a prosperous future for the city of san francisco, and i want to end by talking about the process of how we elect our

leaders, which is an issue that is shared by the majority of folks in the city. the experiment out of maryland is a terrible way to select a leader. no person in san francisco should have any question about who they are voting for, how their vote will be counted, or whether their vote will be thrown away. it is extraordinary we are faced with such a situation. it should be one person, one vote, one time for a healthy democracy, and i think the people of the city agree with that with over 58% for runoff elections versus 31% for voting, almost a 21 margin, and i think it is time for a change.

i want to invite steve and back up to share more of the details, and i will take that. i should have an ipad. >> thank you, wayne. all of these results can be found at your table and on our website. chamber members will also receive an expanded report later this month in a quarterly print newspaper. although voters are optimistic about the future, they have no appetite for fee increases. good news for everyone in this room. look at these numbers. 75% oppose a congestion pricing feet. 60% oppose an increase in the parking tax, already at 25% sent.

53% oppose a new commercial rent tax. 53% oppose the restoration of the new vehicle license fee, and more than half of the voters opposing the licensee. nonvoters understand the connection between healthy and new businesses and job creation. if you talk about job creation, 61% to support a two-year payroll tax exemption for any new jobs created in san francisco, and 57% support a lower payroll tax if it creates new jobs. clearly voters get it, and i think we owe those folks are round of applause -- are round of applause. as you will hear, our focus for 2012 continues to be

jobs. the same is working collaborative lead to improve the economic development through good government and a commitment to the future. for 2012 the chamber has an aggressive agenda for jobs. we advocate for creating a favorable business climate and regulatory climate in which all businesses can grow and prosper. here are the priorities. reform the business tax once and for all. reduce panhandling and improving the visitor experience. advanced solutions to create jobs. to continue to attract business to send francisco, our priorities are to invest in vital projects.

the central subway and a new community benefit district to improve safety and commerce downtown, and we need to update its long-range economic development plan. the chamber will support initiatives to reform campaign finance and make voting. we have also joined statewide efforts to bring performance based budgeting and greater transparency to state and local government. sustained transparency depends on investments we make in the future. joining forces to create a city that can withstand a natural disaster and prosper afterwards. government efficiency, and investing in our cities assets. now is the time to plan for the future.

in the months ahead we look forward to working with the entire board of supervisors and business leaders across the city to develop more fair and equitable business taxation, which will make it possible for all companies not just to survive but to thrive, and in summary the 2012 agenda will focus on advancing these priorities, putting job creation first, encouraging government efficiency, and avoiding new burdens, and we will continue to hold our elected officials accountable. everyone is talking about jobs, but the real test is how do they vote to? we invite you to enjoy your breakfast and review the poll results at your table. our program will begin in 10 ministers. now we will turn this over to the great staff at the marietta

-- marriott, and who will serve 900 breakfasts in 10 minutes. thank you. [applause] they have been helping individuals and businesses meet their goals for 200 years while also supporting the growth and vitality of the communities they serve. they raise financing for local government and nonprofit organizations in california provided more than $1 billion in community and development loans and contributed it over $23 million duto california chariti.

please welcome maine who -- please join me in welcoming sarah gardner from j.p. morgan chase. welcome, susan. >> i got to put on my glasses. good morning. california is a state with many opportunities for growth. the people, facilities needed to serve to businesses as well. we are creating many jobs, including construction to build a brand shows, vendors to provide services, and employees to help our customers with financial needs. we are honored to sponsor today's event, and it is my pleasure to introduce him. jim is the managing director and chief economist for j.p. morgan

chase and works closely with our investment banking and government relations groups. in addition to publishing independent research on the economy and financial markets, his views are widely cited in the media. he is a frequent commentator on economic policy issues. he received his undergraduate degree from the university of illinois and holds a ph.d. in economics from northwestern university. today he will provide a national overview and update us on what to expect as we go forward in 2012. goo[applause] >> good morning, san francisco. i love visiting san francisco.

i get a lot of my ideas from here. not far from here is a place i liked to stay. goothe last time i was there, my door said, people who live within their means have no imagination, and that is not really responsible, but i liked that idea of imagination, because for people like me, it requires a lot of imagination, and the reason for that is when you are watching the economy, but you do not see is more important than what you do see. the damage is very visible from a recession. what you do not see is the healing that is helping us get back on our feet.

of when i think about the stock market, it is the place where the imagination is the lifeblood of voters. as you can tell, we do not need a lot of prompting. the equity market gets what is going on, and this has been going on since the spring of 2009. if you think about the stock market, when market recovers as much as it has, we are not that far from the peak in october, 2007. people say, aren't we getting ahead of things to? the way we normally figure out whether the market is priced properly or not, we think about what is happening to earnings, the fundamental drives, and

relative to the earnings from the corporate sector, the value of the stock market is not that expensive. the line is showing you price earnings ratios. good one more housekeeping details. for those of you who find it difficult to follow the economy, i would say if i am only allowed to look at one thing to figure out what is happening with the economy, i thing many of us would tell you to keep your eyes on jobless claims, a weekly. what you will see is jobless claims laid on top of gdp growth.