What Can Bill Clinton Do to Boost State Business? : POLITICAL FORECAST

What can the Clinton Administration do to boost the California economy? The Times asked six California economists. * Ronald H. Schmidt

Senior economist, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President George Bush signed a bill supporting more water marketing within California. Further support of that general policy would be very helpful in moving us in a direction of greater efficiency. Water cutbacks in industry and urban uses are costing a tremendous amount of money, and it’s because of inefficient allocation.

* Lynn Reaser

Chief economist and senior vice president, First Interstate Bancorp . Help restore confidence. If people can be somewhat reassured that policies will be steady, that taxes are not going to be changed year in and year out--that would be important. Companies need a period of stability.

* Stephen Levy

Director, Center for the Continuing Study of California’s Economy Early and vigorous implementation of the agenda Clinton laid out during the campaign, which addresses the principal needs of the California economy--technology, defense transition, worker education and trade negotiation. It isn’t necessary that Clinton to do anything special for the California economy.

In the short term, aggressive anti-recession policies will help California. Long term, accelerating our competitiveness in the technologies of the future and assisting people and communities and companies caught in the transition of defense spending.

* Martin Anderson

Senior fellow, Hoover Institution

Accelerate job creation by reducing the capital-gains tax, which would be an enormous help to small business and new businesses, which create the vast bulk of the jobs.

* Jack A. Kyser

Chief economist, Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County

Focus on defense conversion and transition. The skills, the research-and-development capability, could be valuable assets. What we’re in danger of having happen is that this just gets lost and frittered away.

Clinton also needs to push the idea of reviewing government regulations, streamlining the process, eliminating the duplication of regulations, so that the business person doesn’t get lost in the black hole of government regulation.

* Dennis W. Macheski

Director of research, Price Waterhouse Real Estate Group

Be careful not to drive up interest rates. If Clinton signals that we’re going to drive up the national debt, interest rates will go up and that will have a negative impact on us all.

We also need to look at the level of undocumented immigration. It probably is overwhelming in Southern California. To fix it is a national solution, not a local one.

Finally, we spend too much time saving the wrong things. All the money we’re wasting could be spent for clean air and clean water--buying the Santa Monica Mountains. Our environmental dollars are not being wisely spent.