Aerospace Jobs Are ‘Economically Correct’ : Economy: Hostility and the lack of public support may end up killing a key state industry.

The Los Angeles City Council recently passed a unanimous resolution congratulating Northrop Corp. for its work on the B-2 Stealth bomber and urging public support for the program.

If we want to maintain our leadership in aerospace--and make no mistake, California has the highest concentration of this technical expertise of any state in the nation--then we must support the industry and support it vigorously.

The reality is that defense programs are being reduced and the numbers don’t make it easy for the military-aircraft industry to sustain itself. Today, the Pentagon is buying only 347 planes and helicopters. That drops to 296 aircraft in the government’s fiscal 1992 budget request and 288 in the 1993 projection.

These numbers do not bode well for California’s economy or for the economic strength, growth and diversity that Los Angeles and the rest of the state have enjoyed over the last half of a century.

Add to this information the job-loss factor and you can see that California’s economy is facing a dilemma.

An economic study conducted by McKinsey & Co. Inc. for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce found that the state has lost 60,000 aerospace jobs since 1986. Furthermore, these job losses brought about the elimination of 90,000 more jobs with related subcontractors and service providers.

One reason for this job exodus is the lack of political support for California’s aerospace business. There also is a belief by these companies that outright hostility exists because they do not represent a “politically correct” industry.

Well, I disagree. I say aerospace is an “economically correct” industry for California and a sizeable contributor to the state’s high quality of life.

We’ve all seen news reports about the number of aerospace companies that are moving their plants, people and technology to other parts of the country. All you need to do is drive through parts of the city to see “For Sale” signs of homes where people can no longer afford their mortgage payments because their aerospace jobs have moved out of the state.

The continuing decrease of the aerospace segment in our economy creates a negative ripple effect that touches all of us.

One last point. There are those who believe that eliminating or reducing the B-2 program will create additional funding for social programs. As a result of last year’s “budget summit” this is not true.

So, if the B-2 is cut, the money will not feed and shelter the homeless, or provide additional aid to education or rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. It will go to another defense program--most likely in another state.

We should not let this happen.