Sunday, April 29, 2007 | 7:24 a.m.
A tale of two governors.
There was a lot to learn this past week at the Milken Institute Global Conference. In its 10th year, the product of financier and health care champion Michael Milken played host to a few thousand business, social, political and charitable leaders from around the world who came to Los Angeles to learn from some of the most knowledgeable people on the planet.
One of the more colorful panels dealt with the value of human capital. In English, that means people, the folks who can make or break any idea or any business. In his former life at Drexel Burnham, Mike Milken's sine qua non to any major bond underwriting was the quality of the human capital that would be available to the businesses that sought Mike's his help. The better the people involved, the easier it was to raise the capital needed. Simple as that.
Fast forward to this past week and one of the major issues still being discussed was the need for and the benefit of human capital. The three panelists were people who are known for their dedication to their employees and their businesses. Steve Wynn of Wynn Hotels, Terry Semel of Yahoo and Sumner Redstone from Viacom are legendary for their commitment to finding and keeping the most talented people available.
Their stories, their banter and their real-life lessons about empowering people at all levels - albeit with varying degrees of oversight from the top - were some of the highlights of the conference. In part because getting those three people on the same stage - and to be moderated by Jeff Greenfield, who by now is an employee of Sumner's CBS tele vision network but who acted the role quite well with his "boss's boss's boss" sitting in front of him - was not an easy feat. Unless, of course, you are Mike Milken. And, if we get a cure for prostate cancer and other deadly diseases in our lifetime, it will be in large part because of Milken's efforts. Then we will all know he really can do anything!
Another highlight of the conference was the Governator. Not only a highlight but also an inspirational treat, especially for someone from Nevada.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was interviewed by Milken for an hour or so Wednesday. And although there was a wide range of topics, the message was loud and clear. California, one of the largest economies in the world, is back! And with it is the same kind of creativity, problem-solving and leadership that made it so successful in the first place.
It matters not that the governor is a Republican in a Democratic state or a Democrat dressed like a Republican acting like an independent. What matters to the people of California, and which inures to the benefit of the rest of this country, is that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a leader. He is a builder, both of buildings and consensus. He is a doer, of those things that are easy and most things that are hard. And he is a dreamer, because he remembers what he and others never had and dreams of all that they can get. And he knows it is all possible as long as he gets people with differing ideas and agendas all on the same page. For that piece of business he is still the Terminator!
One of his initiatives is power use in California. While it is up on a per capita basis everywhere else, it is down in our neighboring state. There are a minimum of four Nobel prize winners in California working with the governor to come up with the ways and means to make that state and its people more energy-efficient. I wonder how many such people there are working with our governor on the same issue?
As for global warming, Gov. Schwarzenegger has never wavered. "The science is in. Period." He has known it and acted on that premise since he became governor. And he has been working with states like Arizona, New Mexico and Washington, which have signed on as partners in what will be a nationwide effort - at the state level and to persuade the federal government to act - to attack global warming at the source. And if you ask where is Nevada and our governor on this issue, the answer is depressing. Nowhere to be found. Absent without the leave of the people who live here to ignore one of the most crushing challenges of our time.
One example is Gov. Schwarzenegger's promise to the Environmental Protection Agency. California has asked for waivers from the EPA to move faster toward solutions regarding global warming. The EPA under the Bush administration has been dragging its feet. I know, we are all shocked. The governor told the crowded Milken conferees, "If the EPA doesn't move faster in granting the waivers, we will sue the EPA." Think about that. One of the largest economies in the world and the most populous state in the country wants to do something about global arming and the Bush administration won't let it. How do you think that lawsuit will turn out?
The fun part of the conversation was Arnold's discussion of green technologies and his love of fast cars. He is convinced we can have both. He described a sports car that goes 0-60 in four seconds and can reach speeds of 140 m p h . And it is good - looking, too! He has already ordered it because he wants a "car a Terminator can drive." His point was simple. The technology is available to give Americans what they want in a package that is technologically efficient, green and non-polluting. Not everybody wants a Prius. We can have the choices Americans are used to having by forcing the industry to change to technology that is readily available.
Now, that's leadership. In Nevada, we can't even get our leader to admit that if we want new and better roads that we have to pay for them. The Legislature is trying to come up with all kinds of Mickey Mouse - thanks again, California - ideas on how to pay for the $4 billion needed to prevent gridlock and significant harm to our tourist economy and all we get from our governor is his ridiculous "no tax" pledge. We all get it, Governor. No one wants to pay more taxes. But no one wants to spend one minute longer on our over crowded streets and highways than we need to. That is a waste of time, resources and money , and none of us have any of that to spare!
As for the other challenges that plague us - health care, growing prison populations, school and teacher shortages, infrastructure repairs and growth, and any number of other large issues, the Governator is out front, leading the way toward solutions. They are not easy answers and they require agreement from most sides of the political spectrum to achieve. But, he is confident he will get there because "there" is the right and proper place to be.
I don't hear anything like that from the mouth of our governor. In fact, I don't hear anything at all from the mouth of our governor that comes close to resembling the kinds of words and challenges and ideas that I heard from the Republican governor of California.
The irony here is that Nevada depends so much on the health and vibrancy and people of California to support our major industry. You would think that we would take our lead from them, support them and find ways to get closer to them. Instead, we are doing our best to go in the opposite direction. It makes no sense.
But, it is easy to understand why. One state, you guess which one, has a leader with a vision and the determination to get there. The other state - there is only one left - has no leadership and no vision and only the determination to say "no."
It is truly a tale of two governors. And in this story, there will be one winner and one loser. Which story do you want to be in?
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