4 ms·

This headline gets repeated a lot, but it is extremely misleading. Due to it's huge size, California has communities and cost of living that are vastly differen

by dmode 10y ago

This headline gets repeated a lot, but it is extremely misleading. Due to it's huge size, California has communities and cost of living that are vastly different. I don't understand how you can assign a single cost of living measure to the entire state. A cost of living adjustment that is true for coastal California will be wildly off base for people living on Mojave desert. A better study will reflect supplemental poverty rate broken down by their cohort regions.

yellowapple 10y ago
Even a per-county breakdown would be accurate enough to be useful on at least a basic level.
mariojv 10y ago
I definitely agree in the case of California. In the case of smaller states (Rhode Island, Massachusetts except Boston to an extent), I would imagine that state-level info is more useful.
username223 10y ago
Absolutely. California is wildly divided into places you want to live but can't afford (SF), and places you can afford but don't want to live (Barstow). $100k in SF is $33k in Barstow ( http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/san-francisco-ca/barstow-ca/100000 http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/san-francisco-ca/ba... )
- laughfactory 10y ago
  Except they all face the same tax burden which, as a California resident until recently, is quite high: sales tax, property tax, income tax...they tax everything there, and there are few exemptions. Even at $60K the taxes in CA will eat you alive. Great weather (in SoCal), but the sunshine tax, it seemed to us, was perhaps as much as 50%!
  - pm90 10y ago
    To be fair though, its not like the tax money is going into the pockets of corrupt politicians (well maybe not all of it). California is the most progressive state and spends that money on its residents via education, healthcare, scientific research etc. I would be willing to pay more taxes if the State made good use of what I pay them.
    - jackcosgrove 10y ago
      California's public education system is below average. It is not what it used to be before Prop 13. California's public funds are increasingly going towards paying public employee pensions. Given how generous these pensions are and how they can be manipulated for maximum payout I would consider it corruption.
      - gozur88 10y ago
        >California's public education system is below average. It is not what it used to be before Prop 13. That has nothing to do with Prop 13 or money, though. You pay more in taxes today than you did pre-Prop 13, and in constant dollars we spend double what we spent on k-12 education in the early '70s. >California's public funds are increasingly going towards paying public employee pensions. Yes. By and large this is where the money is going.
    - tathougies 10y ago
      Lol wut?? Last time I tried to call the state, they disconnected me after waiting for twenty minutes, because the 'lines were too busy'. I'd rather keep my money thanks

by dmode 10y ago

yellowapple 10y ago

Even a per-county breakdown would be accurate enough to be useful on at least a basic level.

mariojv 10y ago

I definitely agree in the case of California. In the case of smaller states (Rhode Island, Massachusetts except Boston to an extent), I would imagine that state-level info is more useful.

username223 10y ago

Absolutely. California is wildly divided into places you want to live but can't afford (SF), and places you can afford but don't want to live (Barstow). $100k in SF is $33k in Barstow ( http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/san-francisco-ca/barstow-ca/100000 http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/san-francisco-ca/ba... )

laughfactory 10y ago
Except they all face the same tax burden which, as a California resident until recently, is quite high: sales tax, property tax, income tax...they tax everything there, and there are few exemptions. Even at $60K the taxes in CA will eat you alive. Great weather (in SoCal), but the sunshine tax, it seemed to us, was perhaps as much as 50%!
- pm90 10y ago
  To be fair though, its not like the tax money is going into the pockets of corrupt politicians (well maybe not all of it). California is the most progressive state and spends that money on its residents via education, healthcare, scientific research etc. I would be willing to pay more taxes if the State made good use of what I pay them.
  - jackcosgrove 10y ago
    California's public education system is below average. It is not what it used to be before Prop 13. California's public funds are increasingly going towards paying public employee pensions. Given how generous these pensions are and how they can be manipulated for maximum payout I would consider it corruption.
    - gozur88 10y ago
      >California's public education system is below average. It is not what it used to be before Prop 13. That has nothing to do with Prop 13 or money, though. You pay more in taxes today than you did pre-Prop 13, and in constant dollars we spend double what we spent on k-12 education in the early '70s. >California's public funds are increasingly going towards paying public employee pensions. Yes. By and large this is where the money is going.
  - tathougies 10y ago
    Lol wut?? Last time I tried to call the state, they disconnected me after waiting for twenty minutes, because the 'lines were too busy'. I'd rather keep my money thanks