Our View: California a bipartisan sore spot

Two high-profile personalities who straddle the business and political realms visited Orange County recently — Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republican Meg Whitman, defeated candidate for governor in 2010.

Both have impressive business credentials. He parlayed a one-employee San Francisco wine shop into 17 restaurants, hotels and wineries. She guided Internet behemoth eBay to unprecedented success and has taken over as CEO at the state's No. 2 employer, Hewlett-Packard.

Curiously, they sounded similar in speeches to local business groups, and in Newsom's case, in a visit with the Orange County Register's Editorial Board.

They generally agreed: The state's economy is seriously hurting without prospect of self-correction. Unemployment is soaring. The state is hostile to business expansion and growth. State government contributes to the malaise with taxes and regulations. They differed on details and, by degree, on their respective solutions.

But we were struck by their similarities. Whitman spoke to BizFedOC, a coalition of CEOs from Orange County business organizations. Newsom addressed the Orange County Forum, a public-affairs group.

Interestingly, they each acknowledged state regulations hamper businesses, although she seemed to believe red tape costs are more likely to drive businesses out of state when they want to expand. Both were critical of California taxes; again, however, it was Whitman who spoke more forcefully about tax cuts while Newsom seemed to stress tax reforms.

This space isn't sufficient to parse each's prescription for economic healing. But it is instructive to note how much they agreed.

We maintain that, rather than merely modifying regulations, elimination would be a greater economic stimulus. Instead of "reforming" the tax system, lowering taxes would have a more immediate and longer-term effect, we're certain.

But we were encouraged that such similar understandings came from a prominent Democrat and a prominent Republican, each intimately familiar with turning profits.

It sounded like a platitude when Newsom said it. But after Whitman repeated essentially the same message, we admit to reconsidering. They may be right. The only workable solution may lie in cooperation within government, among leaders and with the private sector, as they suggested. And yes, as shop-worn it sounds, economic revival probably does require new leadership.

Can a defeated aspiring politician and an essentially powerless lieutenant governor nudge the powers that be toward such a solution? Alas, the devil is in the details. As Whitman said more than once, "we can do better."