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On a per capita basis, California's GDP is not remarkable and is significantly worse than some other States. Having a large economy is a function of having a la

On a per capita basis, California's GDP is not remarkable and is significantly worse than some other States. Having a large economy is a function of having a large population, it doesn't imply an exceptionally productive economy. I'm a native Californian but I've never understood the odd "fifth largest economy!" flag waving given that it is a product of population size. The "doing something right" may not be the thing you are trying to imply.

jayd16 6y ago
>On a per capita basis, California's GDP is not remarkable and is significantly worse than some other States Per capita its still the 5th(6th if you include DC) highest and 30% more than the median state. I think people reference the fifth largest economy factoid because it also speaks to how Californian has several large industries from tech to agriculture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP_per_capita#Current https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ...
CalChris 6y ago
Actually on a per capita GDP, California is 8th, 5th if you look at current rather real. Hey, we're right behind Wyoming and North Dakota. Shudder the thought. However, we're 7th in per capita income with Wyoming and North Dakota nowhere to be seen. Sounds like some states have an income distribution problem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... I'm also a native California, born, bred and educated, and I've seen this U-Haul trucks headed for the border tripe every few years, this one from Stanford's (notoriously conservative) Hoover Institute. It's the usual right wing nonsense.
dragonwriter 6y ago
> On a per capita basis, California's GDP is not remarkable, and is significantly worse than some other States. It's #5 among states, a little over 7% behind #1 Massachusetts, and over 20% ahead of the US as a whole, and over double #50 Mississippi. > Having a large economy is a function of having a large population, it doesn't imply an exceptionally productive economy. California has both a large population and, on a per capita basis, an exceptionally productive economy among US states. It's true it's abstractly possible for the former to substitute for the latter in aggregate output measures, but that's not really the case for CA. https://www.statista.com/statistics/248063/per-capita-us-real-gross-domestic-product-gdp-by-state/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/248063/per-capita-us-rea...
phobosanomaly 6y ago
California is a tremendously diverse state. For the wealth of the Bay, we also have the poverty of the Imperial Valley and San Bernardino. It makes California a true melting-pot, and the externalities of the wealthy areas serve as an engine to bring people up out of poverty in those other areas. You can grow up as the child of a dirt-poor undocumented farmworker, attend a California Community College, and transfer to a world-class public university. Not exactly that sequence of events, but this congressman is kind of an illustration of that arc: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raul_Ruiz_(politician) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raul_Ruiz_(politician)

jayd16 6y ago

>On a per capita basis, California's GDP is not remarkable and is significantly worse than some other States Per capita its still the 5th(6th if you include DC) highest and 30% more than the median state. I think people reference the fifth largest economy factoid because it also speaks to how Californian has several large industries from tech to agriculture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP_per_capita#Current https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ...

CalChris 6y ago

Actually on a per capita GDP, California is 8th, 5th if you look at current rather real. Hey, we're right behind Wyoming and North Dakota. Shudder the thought. However, we're 7th in per capita income with Wyoming and North Dakota nowhere to be seen. Sounds like some states have an income distribution problem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... I'm also a native California, born, bred and educated, and I've seen this U-Haul trucks headed for the border tripe every few years, this one from Stanford's (notoriously conservative) Hoover Institute. It's the usual right wing nonsense.

dragonwriter 6y ago

> On a per capita basis, California's GDP is not remarkable, and is significantly worse than some other States. It's #5 among states, a little over 7% behind #1 Massachusetts, and over 20% ahead of the US as a whole, and over double #50 Mississippi. > Having a large economy is a function of having a large population, it doesn't imply an exceptionally productive economy. California has both a large population and, on a per capita basis, an exceptionally productive economy among US states. It's true it's abstractly possible for the former to substitute for the latter in aggregate output measures, but that's not really the case for CA. https://www.statista.com/statistics/248063/per-capita-us-real-gross-domestic-product-gdp-by-state/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/248063/per-capita-us-rea...

phobosanomaly 6y ago

California is a tremendously diverse state. For the wealth of the Bay, we also have the poverty of the Imperial Valley and San Bernardino. It makes California a true melting-pot, and the externalities of the wealthy areas serve as an engine to bring people up out of poverty in those other areas. You can grow up as the child of a dirt-poor undocumented farmworker, attend a California Community College, and transfer to a world-class public university. Not exactly that sequence of events, but this congressman is kind of an illustration of that arc: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raul_Ruiz_(politician) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raul_Ruiz_(politician)