California is now the World's 5th largest economy

[RubberToe]

Just passed the United Kingdom.

But how could this be? According to our quality of living commentor @McRat , everyone is leaving the State in droves. Well, except we just hit 40 million population. So not everybody has left yet.

Must be the solid Republican controlled State government? Well, not really, no State office holders have been Republican since Arnold left the scene. Democrats have a Supermajority in both houses, so the growing economy must be in spite of them, eh?

But all the businesses are leaving the state too cause of the overwhelming tax burden, right? Well, apparently some businesses are doing OK, cause you don't just become the 5th largest economy in the world by accident.

It must be because we put all those coal miners back to work making California great again? Well, there are no coal power plants in the state, and there is not likely to ever be another fossil fuel plant approved for construction, ever again.

Must be all those big tax cuts we passed? Well no, Governor Brown actually raised taxes a few years back to close the $25 billion defecit we were facing. And, it has been nothing but surpluses from then until now.

How in the world could we be doing so well, someone has to explain this to me. Surely Kansas under the steady helm of Sam Brownback and his Republican Supermajority must be doing much better than California?

RT

 

[McRat]

Just passed the United Kingdom.

But how could this be? According to our quality of living commentor @McRat , everyone is leaving the State in droves. Well, except we just hit 40 million population. So not everybody has left yet.

Must be the solid Republican controlled State government? Well, not really, no State office holders have been Republican since Arnold left the scene. Democrats have a Supermajority in both houses, so the growing economy must be in spite of them, eh?

But all the businesses are leaving the state too cause of the overwhelming tax burden, right? Well, apparently some businesses are doing OK, cause you don't just become the 5th largest economy in the world by accident.

It must be because we put all those coal miners back to work making California great again? Well, there are no coal power plants in the state, and there is not likely to ever be another fossil fuel plant approved for construction, ever again.

Must be all those big tax cuts we passed? Well no, Governor Brown actually raised taxes a few years back to close the $25 billion defecit we were facing. And, it has been nothing but surpluses from then until now.

How in the world could we be doing so well, someone has to explain this to me. Surely Kansas under the steady helm of Sam Brownback and his Republican Supermajority must be doing much better than California?

RT

California is now below the 50% mark in poverty. That is, we have a higher % of poor people in California than the US average. And it's getting worse. But that does not take into account our housing costs. Thus our homeless issues.

California when rated as a country was probably #1 in the 1950-1980 period. This was when we did not have enough workers and people poured into California and houses were still cheap. Companies like McDonnell Douglas would pay the equivalent of $31/hr for unskilled trainees. Once training was complete (8 weeks classroom) you were put on the floor and bumped to $43.15 / hr as an apprentice. Making that kind of money at 18 years old rocked.

There were perhaps 100 pages of Help Wanted ads in the LA Times, I kid you not. 2 dozen pages of small print just for machinists and factory workers. We made a lot of cars, a lot of farm products, a lot of airplanes, and a lot of space and weapon systems. And tourism, and Hollywood, and electronics, etc.

But believe whatever you like. Would you like fries with that?

 

[McRat]

BTW - Kansas is doing better than California. Lower poverty levels, cheaper housing, more jobs. 27% less unemployment.

You mistake population size for loss of the middle class. We have more very poor and more very rich, but that does not bode well for the future. Watch the parade.

When I was growing up, the US had the highest standard of living in the world, and California had the highest standard of living in the US.

We are now #20 (CIA Factbook GDP per capita). So it's hard to image how you could doctor numbers that would show California alone is wildly better than the entire USA with California.

 

[RedMS]

On a side note.... how was the train station on your way to work this morning @RubberToe ? Still dodging junkies?

 

[dreamwave6]

Whatever. I’ve lived in California for 20 years and I am done with the significantly overpriced housing, the ridiculously high state income taxes, the atrocious traffic, the hordes of illegal aliens sucking off of my hard-earned tax dollars, the porous borders that threaten the security of the region and the ultra-liberal politics that are making most of the above a reality. I just accepted a job offer for a position in Orlando today. I can’t wait to get out of Liberal-afornia.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Whatever. I’ve lived in California for 20 years and I am done with the significantly overpriced housing, the ridiculously high state income taxes, the atrocious traffic, the hordes of illegal aliens sucking off of my hard-earned tax dollars, the porous borders that threaten the security of the region and the ultra-liberal politics that are making most of the above a reality. I just accepted a job offer for a position in Orlando today. I can’t wait to get out of Liberal-afornia.

Yes, moving to Florida will free you up from all those illegal immigrants

 

[Aieukl378]

Whatever. I’ve lived in California for 20 years and I am done with the significantly overpriced housing, the ridiculously high state income taxes, the atrocious traffic, the hordes of illegal aliens sucking off of my hard-earned tax dollars, the porous borders that threaten the security of the region and the ultra-liberal politics that are making most of the above a reality. I just accepted a job offer for a position in Orlando today. I can’t wait to get out of Liberal-afornia.

I've lived in San Diego and I've spent a load of time in Orlando(a few months every year during winter). Some observations:

• Orlando far more liberal and diverse than San Diego. San Diego is a military town whereas Orlando is an artist community...and guess who's working at the theme parks and cleaning the zillions of hotel rooms?
• Traffic...if you think your escaping traffic by moving to Orlando your mistaken.
• Income Tax...yes they don't have income tax but there are so many toll roads it makes up for it plus.
• If your concerned with foreigners, Orlando has more folks from other countries than anywhere I've ever been.
• You didn't mention it but...weather. San Diego has the most perfect weather of anywhere I've lived. Orlando is decent Nov-March but then becomes super tropical gross with lots of creepy crawly, bugs like you've never seen before etc.

So yeah...enjoy Orlando!

 

[dreamwave6]

I've lived in San Diego and I've spent a load of time in Orlando(a few months every year during winter). Some observations:

• Orlando far more liberal and diverse than San Diego. San Diego is a military town whereas Orlando is an artist community...and guess who's working at the theme parks and cleaning the zillions of hotel rooms?
• Traffic...if you think your escaping traffic by moving to Orlando your mistaken.
• Income Tax...yes they don't have income tax but there are so many toll roads it makes up for it plus.
• If your concerned with foreigners, Orlando has more folks from other countries than anywhere I've ever been.
• You didn't mention it but...weather. San Diego has the most perfect weather of anywhere I've lived. Orlando is decent Nov-March but then becomes super tropical gross with lots of creepy crawly, bugs like you've never seen before etc.

So yeah...enjoy Orlando!

I should have been more clear. I am going to be living in New Smyrna Beach (right near the Port Orange SC!) and commuting to east Orlando so your comments about liberal/diversity and traffic do not apply. Concerned with foreigners? Really queen. I am no racist. I love how liberals think that anyone who is against ILLEGAL immigration is fascist. I have traveled all over the world and, overall, have no beef with people from other countries visiting the US LEGALLY.

San Diego has great weather...if you can afford it. I have not been able to live near the coast (where I want to live). I presently live 45 minutes inland where it gets hot AF in the summer and quite cold in the winter. So, the climate that I have been living with is far from perfect.

 

[McRat]

I've lived in San Diego and I've spent a load of time in Orlando(a few months every year during winter). Some observations:

• Orlando far more liberal and diverse than San Diego. San Diego is a military town whereas Orlando is an artist community...and guess who's working at the theme parks and cleaning the zillions of hotel rooms?
• Traffic...if you think your escaping traffic by moving to Orlando your mistaken.
• Income Tax...yes they don't have income tax but there are so many toll roads it makes up for it plus.
• If your concerned with foreigners, Orlando has more folks from other countries than anywhere I've ever been.
• You didn't mention it but...weather. San Diego has the most perfect weather of anywhere I've lived. Orlando is decent Nov-March but then becomes super tropical gross with lots of creepy crawly, bugs like you've never seen before etc.

So yeah...enjoy Orlando!

San Diego was a Navy and Marine bedroom community decades ago. Most military families have been priced out the areas they used to be quartered at, like the mesas surrounding Mission Bay. I grew up in military housing complexes. I think they were quarters during WWII.

Today, with ~1.5 million in the city, and twice that including the surrounding bedroom communities, it's a technology and aerospace hub.
By the 2020 Census, Caucasians will comprise less than 1/2 of San Diego, remaining more 'diverse' than Orlando. The freeways feeding the bedroom communities are often jammed in the middle of nowhere now.
With world's best zoo, beautiful Mission Bay, Coronado Island, Balboa Park and it's museums, Old Town, proximity to Mexico, and a nearly 500 year old history, San Diego gets a lot of international guests.

Sales Tax in San Diego can be as high as 8.75%. Regular gasoline is $3.50-$4.00 a gallon. Income tax is up to 12.3%. Then we have the Death by a Thousand Cuts taxes; there is an additional tax on virtually everything, even fines have taxes added to them. Electricity prices are among the highest the developed world. These costs create an environment where SD has the highest concentration of homeless veterans in the US.

Yes, the coastal weather in San Diego is among the best weather on earth. But SD county is beaches, desert, mesas, mountains. The climate varies greatly in short distances. Coastal areas are pricey. La Jolla is over $1,700,000 median home pricing. San Diego as a whole is $625k median home prices. Note though, there are a lot of <1100sqft houses still from the military days. What would be $100k house at best in much of the country. Small lot, narrow streets, old small, flat roof houses with no A/C and overhead powerlines.

 

[dreamwave6]

San Diego was a Navy and Marine bedroom community decades ago. Most military families have been priced out the areas they used to be quartered at, like the mesas surrounding Mission Bay. I grew up in military housing complexes. I think they were quarters during WWII.

Today, with ~1.5 million in the city, and twice that including the surrounding bedroom communities, it's a technology and aerospace hub.
By the 2020 Census, Caucasians will comprise less than 1/2 of San Diego, remaining more 'diverse' than Orlando. The freeways feeding the bedroom communities are often jammed in the middle of nowhere now.
With world's best zoo, beautiful Mission Bay, Coronado Island, Balboa Park and it's museums, Old Town, proximity to Mexico, and a nearly 500 year old history, San Diego gets a lot of international guests.

Sales Tax in San Diego can be as high as 8.75%. Regular gasoline is $3.50-$4.00 a gallon. Income tax is up to 12.3%. Then we have the Death by a Thousand Cuts taxes; there is an additional tax on virtually everything, even fines have taxes added to them. Electricity prices are among the highest the developed world. These costs create an environment where SD has the highest concentration of homeless veterans in the US.

Yes, the coastal weather in San Diego is among the best weather on earth. But SD county is beaches, desert, mesas, mountains. The climate varies greatly in short distances. Coastal areas are pricey. La Jolla is over $1,700,000 median home pricing. San Diego as a whole is $625k median home prices. Note though, there are a lot of <1100sqft houses still from the military days. What would be $100k house at best in much of the country. Small lot, narrow streets, old small, flat roof houses with no A/C and overhead powerlines.

But otherwise San Diego is perfect...

 

[1208]

If California were an independent country, it would be the 17th most unequal country on earth, according to data from the World Bank.

In California the GC is 0.488. This is the second highest of all America’s major states, behind only New York, and it is also far higher than the national average of 0.479

It would rest comfortably just behind Honduras (at 0.511), and ahead of Guatemala (0.487) and Mexico (0.482).

Canada sits at spot number 111, while Norway is way down the list at number 153 (out of 176 countries).

 

[McRat]

The entire title is misleading. "California is 5th again" in something. We returned to a previous position again.

 

[Lump]

U-Hual truck rentel rates says it all, California middle class outbound demand is so large they are charging 10X more for a 26' truck for people leaving Cali then a family moving in.

From San Francisco to Las Vegas its $2100, the opposite rental is only $130.
From Los Angeles to Phoenix a truck rental cost $1600, but the opposite only costs $130.
From San Diego to San Antonio its $3500 but the opposite is $800.
San Fran to Seattle Wa. costs $3400, the opposite is $650.

 

[RedMS]

Whatever you do don’t move to Seattle. Same liberal policies and similarly high cost of living. But crappier weather

 

[RedMS]

U-Hual truck rentel rates says it all, California middle class outbound demand is so large they are charging 10X more for a 26' truck for people leaving Cali then a family moving in.

From San Francisco to Las Vegas its $2100, the opposite rental is only $130.
From Los Angeles to Phoenix a truck rental cost $1600, but the opposite only costs $130.
From San Diego to San Antonio its $3500 but the opposite is $800.
San Fran to Seattle Wa. costs $3400, the opposite is $650.

Almost feels like the moving companies are made to impose a 1000% tax on outbound moves. You know, to help battle the homeless problem

 

[deonb]

Whatever you do don’t move to Seattle. Same liberal policies and similarly high cost of living. But crappier weather

No income tax though.

And as far as weather - there are not a lot of other places in the US where you can play 18 holes of golf in 70 degree weather after work. (Admittedly in the summer only.)

 

[McRat]

No income tax though.

And as far as weather - there are not a lot of other places in the US where you can play 18 holes of golf in 70 degree weather after work. (Admittedly in the summer only.)

Yeah, but you need to wait until 10pm to have a decent fireworks show for the 4th. That is if there are any areas left that still allow it. The Indian Reservation is where to get the 'good stuff'.

 

[Lump]

Does California in its GDP claim take credit for Apples products made in China?

Look how Cal. came to their conclusion .

The state calculates California's economic ranking as if it were a country by comparing state-level GDP from the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the U.S. Department of Commerce with global data from the International Monetary Fund.

 

[McRat]

Does California in its GDP claim take credit for Apples products made in China?

Look how Cal. came to their conclusion .

The state calculates California's economic ranking as if it were a country by comparing state-level GDP from the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the U.S. Department of Commerce with global data from the International Monetary Fund.

Elections are coming up. You'll be hearing a lot more in the coming months how California is the best it's ever been. When the elections are over, you will hear how we desperately need $$$ to fix it.

 

[RedMS]

No income tax though.

And as far as weather - there are not a lot of other places in the US where you can play 18 holes of golf in 70 degree weather after work. (Admittedly in the summer only.)

And drizzle the other 9 months