California Is Ranked Dead Last for Business. Here's the Treasurer's Fix | Fiona Ma

**Guest** Fiona Ma, California State Treasurer **Guest Bio** Fiona Ma is California's State Treasurer, overseeing the state's debt portfolio, investment pool, and savings programs including CalSavers, CalABLE, and the ScholarShare 529 plan. A CPA by training, Ma has held five elected offices over three decades: San Francisco Board of Supervisors, State Assembly, State Board of Equalization, and two terms as Treasurer. She is currently running for Lieutenant Governor against Republican Gloria Romero in the November 2026 general election. **Show Summary** California ranks dead last among all 50 states for business climate, according to the latest Chief Executive magazine survey of CEOs. In this episode of State of Gold, host Jon Slavet sits down with State Treasurer Fiona Ma to ask what she would do about it if elected Lieutenant Governor in November 2026. Ma, who spent her pre-government career as a real estate tax accountant advising businesses on where to locate, makes the case that California has failed to create meaningful incentives to attract or retain companies. Texas now has more Fortune 500 headquarters than California, and Ma says the state government's lack of outreach to business leaders is a core part of the problem. The conversation covers a wide range of policy ground: the $1,600 per acre tax burden crushing family farmers, a wine grape surplus with no market, the cannabis industry (where 60% of sales are now illegal due to tax rates as high as 40%), the philosophical debate over billions in state spending on undocumented residents while citizens struggle with affordability, and Ma's work launching the Early Wealth Partnership Navigator with Google.org to help families access savings programs. Ma also signals openness to a California flat tax, calling the current system too complicated for ordinary taxpayers. **Chapters** 00:00 - Cold Open: "I Used to Advise Companies to Leave California" 00:15 - Welcome: Fiona Ma on the Lieutenant Governor Race 00:30 - Resume vs. Policy: The Contrast with Gloria Romero 01:29 - Agriculture Deep Dive: 250 Farm Tours and Counting 02:53 - The $65 Billion Ag Industry Under Siege 03:19 - $1,600 Per Acre: The Tax Burden on Family Farmers 04:00 - Wine Grapes With No Buyer: A Real Crisis Right Now 05:28 - CEO Survey: California Ranked #50 06:05 - What Incentives Does California Actually Have? 07:37 - Newsom's CEO Phone Calls and the Real Response 07:55 - Education: The LG Sits on UC, CSU, and Community College Boards 08:44 - Pell Grants, Cal Grants, and the 85% In-State Shift 09:51 - Student Housing Crisis: Living in Cars, Driving Hours 10:18 - Paid Internships: The RIT Model That Works 10:53 - Billions for Non-Citizens While Citizens Struggle 11:29 - Unintended Consequences: Emergency Rooms as Primary Care 12:17 - Cannabis Banking: An Obsession With Good Reason 12:56 - Auditing Dispensaries by Counting Cars in Parking Lots 14:14 - Ten Years Later, Still No Real Banking Access 14:50 - Revenues Down 30%: The Black Market Flourishes 15:53 - Cultivation Tax, Distribution Tax, Local Tax: The Full Stack 16:34 - 60% of the Market Is Illegal Products 17:20 - The Fix: Lower Taxes, Better Banking, Federal Action 18:51 - Supporting Kids and Families: The Early Wealth Navigator 20:12 - One Stop Shop: Why Families Shouldn't Need 10 Websites 21:43 - Queen for a Day: The Single Biggest Priority 22:28 - A California Flat Tax: Could It Work? **Connect with Fiona Ma** - X: https://x.com/fionama - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fionamacpa/ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionamacpa/ - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/fionama - State Treasurer's Office (official site) - Campaign website Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe to our podcast, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and join the conversation on Instagram and LinkedIn with the hashtag #stateofgoldpodcast **Connect with State of Gold** - X: https://x.com/realjonslavet - Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stateofgold/about - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stateofgoldpodcast/?hl=en - Website: www.stateofgold.com