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Well, Silicon Valley is in good shape anyway. It still produces things, unlike most of the rest of the country. Hollywood is likely to keep ticking, too, and

by joecode 17y ago

Well, Silicon Valley is in good shape anyway. It still produces things, unlike most of the rest of the country. Hollywood is likely to keep ticking, too, and I don't see the wine country having much trouble either. Meanwhile, the state is a pretty damn good place to grow tasty, nutritious fruits and vegetables. As a California resident, all this doom and gloom has struck me as utter nonsense. California has especially noticeable problems because it is such a huge and dynamic economy. So perhaps it reacts to U.S./World economic conditions in an especially intense manner. But this is something like a healthy immune reaction in my opinion. California will get over it, and it will be stronger in the end. Perhaps I sound too infatuated with California. Well, come here and see for yourself. It almost makes me feel patriotic---for California, that is.

shpxnvz 17y ago
Well, come here and see for yourself. I did, for a few years, and it appeared even crazier up close. Living there only made the insanity of the "creative" public spending all the more obvious to me, but then I don't claim to be an expert. However, I am close to a Central Coast native who happens to have a career in California government finance - when she says the county and state finances are completely screwed and incompetently handled, I give that opinion a little weight.
splat 17y ago
I agree with you that the state of California is, all things considered, not doing too badly, and it looks as though it will be doing better in the near future. I think that the original commenter was referring to the government of the state of California, which is in serious fiscal trouble. And it looks as though the state government's problems are going to be exacerbated in the future by the tendency of the state legislature for the last several years to "solve" any fiscal problems with temporary fixes and postpone real solutions. The state itself certainly still has a very bright future, but unless the legislature makes some drastic changes in the near future, the state government's future looks very troubled. "California" and "the government of California" are two very different things, and it's important not to conflate the two as often happens in these "California is going down the shitter" debates.
- Retric 17y ago
  Something else to consider when looking at all the doom and gloom around California is the relative income of the average person in California vs. the rest of the US. Median Household Income California $61,021 United States $52,029 Personal per capita income California – $33,749 United States of America – $31,632 Taking the population 35,893,799 of California * the income gap ($33,749 – $31,632 ) = 75,987,172,483 call it 76 billion per year. So yes they had a state budget gap of about 1/3 of the extra per person income vs. the rest of the country. But the idea it's bonds or IOU's became worthless is silly. Median income tends to reduce the apparent income gaps. If you look at the simple average, California makes a lot more money than the rest of the country on average. But they solved the problem by reducing spending and not taxing people more. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124814401981267445.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124814401981267445.html PS: I expect USA to do the same thing, a minor tweak to our spending and taxes can quickly stop deficit spending.
  - shpxnvz 17y ago
    PS: I expect USA to do the same thing, a minor tweak to our spending and taxes can quickly stop deficit spending. The Congressional Budget Office predictions were for the combined deficit for the next 9 years to be $9.27 trillion, and half of that from new spending. Those "tweaks" you are counting on to stop deficit spending don't seem to be so minor, and aren't even going in the right direction.
    - Retric 17y ago
      Stop fighting wars in the Middle East and then double check those numbers. http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_deficit_chart.html http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_deficit_chart.ht... http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/defense_chart_30.html http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/defense_chart_30.html Also breakeven is having the national debt grow as fast as inflation even though CBO considers that a deficit. 12 trillion * .03 = 360 billion / year. PS: There is still a gap but doing things like increasing the SS minimum age by 1 year and cutting back on defense spending might hurt but they don't exactly break our society. Next up remove the tax break on charitable donations.

by joecode 17y ago

shpxnvz 17y ago

Well, come here and see for yourself. I did, for a few years, and it appeared even crazier up close. Living there only made the insanity of the "creative" public spending all the more obvious to me, but then I don't claim to be an expert. However, I am close to a Central Coast native who happens to have a career in California government finance - when she says the county and state finances are completely screwed and incompetently handled, I give that opinion a little weight.

splat 17y ago

I agree with you that the state of California is, all things considered, not doing too badly, and it looks as though it will be doing better in the near future. I think that the original commenter was referring to the government of the state of California, which is in serious fiscal trouble. And it looks as though the state government's problems are going to be exacerbated in the future by the tendency of the state legislature for the last several years to "solve" any fiscal problems with temporary fixes and postpone real solutions. The state itself certainly still has a very bright future, but unless the legislature makes some drastic changes in the near future, the state government's future looks very troubled. "California" and "the government of California" are two very different things, and it's important not to conflate the two as often happens in these "California is going down the shitter" debates.

Retric 17y ago
Something else to consider when looking at all the doom and gloom around California is the relative income of the average person in California vs. the rest of the US. Median Household Income California $61,021 United States $52,029 Personal per capita income California – $33,749 United States of America – $31,632 Taking the population 35,893,799 of California * the income gap ($33,749 – $31,632 ) = 75,987,172,483 call it 76 billion per year. So yes they had a state budget gap of about 1/3 of the extra per person income vs. the rest of the country. But the idea it's bonds or IOU's became worthless is silly. Median income tends to reduce the apparent income gaps. If you look at the simple average, California makes a lot more money than the rest of the country on average. But they solved the problem by reducing spending and not taxing people more. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124814401981267445.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124814401981267445.html PS: I expect USA to do the same thing, a minor tweak to our spending and taxes can quickly stop deficit spending.
- shpxnvz 17y ago
  PS: I expect USA to do the same thing, a minor tweak to our spending and taxes can quickly stop deficit spending. The Congressional Budget Office predictions were for the combined deficit for the next 9 years to be $9.27 trillion, and half of that from new spending. Those "tweaks" you are counting on to stop deficit spending don't seem to be so minor, and aren't even going in the right direction.
  - Retric 17y ago
    Stop fighting wars in the Middle East and then double check those numbers. http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_deficit_chart.html http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_deficit_chart.ht... http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/defense_chart_30.html http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/defense_chart_30.html Also breakeven is having the national debt grow as fast as inflation even though CBO considers that a deficit. 12 trillion * .03 = 360 billion / year. PS: There is still a gap but doing things like increasing the SS minimum age by 1 year and cutting back on defense spending might hurt but they don't exactly break our society. Next up remove the tax break on charitable donations.