Bob Mendez: Middle Income Families and Unintended Policy Consequences

In this episode, Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce Chairman of the Board Bob Mendez talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about policies that impact middle income families, and how we can alter existing policies to create a better environment for them to thrive.  

About Bob Mendez:
A former member of the US Navy, Bob Mendez has had a decorated career in finance, having worked at Merrill Lynch Smith Barney, and Morgan Stanley. He also is actively involved in his community as Chairman of the Board for the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, Chairperson on Budget Engagement Commission for the City of Riverside, and a member of the Honorary Commanders - a civilian organization that supports the March Air Reserve Base.
Learn more about Bob Mendez via https://www.raymondjames.com/rlmwealthgroup/about-us/bio?_=bob.mendez 

Podcast Highlights: 

“When we look at middle-income families as a whole in our society, they provide us with a source of economic stability in that they generally make up the largest portion of the workforce. They can provide a steady stream of local income and taxes as well. And it's critical, especially for any local economy like here in Riverside, which [needs to be able to demonstrate they have a stable workforce] in order to be able to effectively borrow. Plus, they provide consumer spending, which is critical for our local businesses…”

-       Bob Mendez on the topic of the value middle income families bring to local families. 

“The California Environmental Quality Act, is designed to protect our environment. So, I understand the need for CEQA and I like some aspects of it, but there are certain things that could easily be tweaked in order to help, especially suffering middle income families. It's my understanding that, when a developer is looking to build a housing unit, there is approximately $40,000 to $50,000 of cost associated with just regulations that go into the building of just one unit. And we could make simple, I think, adjustments there [so that middle income families can have access to housing they can afford].“

-       Bob Mendez on the unintended consequences policies such as CEQA bring forth, despite good intentions. “I always say it comes down to three things, and it's jobs, jobs, and jobs. You know, we really need to come together, you know, in terms of being able to all move in the right direction to produce good paying jobs for individuals. You know, we just really have to break down all these silos between the city, the county, even our institutions of higher education, and the chamber, you know, where we all work collectively together for the betterment of our community."

-      Bob Mendez on the importance of collaboration between sectors to create jobs and effective change. 

Guest:

Bob Mendez (Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce Chairman of the Board ) 

Interviewers:

Rachel Strausman (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Vice Chief Ambassador)

Pia Prashanth (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador) 

Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/AoX6HO_K8AY?si=aH7l4IouhnzmuSkt

Music by: C Codaine
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase

Commercial Links:
https://spp.ucr.edu/ba-mpphttps://spp.ucr.edu/mpp 

This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ 

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