The study of economy usually shows us that the best time for purchase was last year

The Envision 2040 San José General Plan task force meets this evening to talk about economic recovery, impacts on San José and planning for San José’s future. A presentation from Stephen Levy, Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, is provided in the meeting materials.

Mr. Levy holds degrees in Economics from both MIT and Stanford and, it seems, anyone interested in peering into the crystal ball knocks on his door. In spite of his imposing educational background, Mr. Levy is down-to-earth and shoots for making the language of economics accessible. {unrelated sidebar: My ex was an economist. When he spoke I was sure economists created their own language in an attempt to baffle us mere mortals}

I enjoy our sessions with Mr. Levy, he keeps us grounded and focused on the long view, our community will grow. Things look grim now with projections for improvements in 1 to 3 years. But, unlike the recession of the ’90′s, this is a nationwide problem. Our population will continue to grow, we need to house these folks, create better ways of getting around, and address our competition with other communities to attract businesses, college grads and families.

San José’s goals for the next five years include continuing to seek and build relationships with businesses in emerging industries. This means aggressively continue on our path of being a clean, green and sustainable city, becoming the “World Center of Clean Tech Innovation.”  The Arts and Education also play strong roles in making us attractive, competitive and sustainable. How we accmplish that is up for grabs, the Task Force won’t be defining how San José gets there but will set policies to achieve this goal.

There is an interesting story from the Wall Street Journal, who does the best job at attracting recent college grads and why. What an office looks like has changed dramatically, it is hard now to find someone who doesn’t have a home office that they use extensively. Even folks who hit the road for the daily grind take home piles of work. Many head to the traditional office only for the occasional meeting rather than a daily confab around the office water cooler. Wtih so many options for working and living there come interesting challenges for attracting and keeping folks.

So, come down tonight to your City Hall. Lend your thoughts and your time to making your city a great place to live, work and play.

{Thanks to Woody Allen for his thoughtful insight on best time to buy.}