mlw
Active Member
"No one should write off the Golden State. But it will take massive
reforms to reverse its economic decline."
(wsj.com)
"...From the mid-1980s to 2005, California's population grew by 10
million, while Medicaid recipients soared by seven million; tax filers
paying income taxes rose by just 150,000; and the prison population
swelled by 115,000.
California's economy, which used to outperform the rest of the country,
now substantially underperforms. The unemployment rate, at 10.9%, is
higher than every other state except Nevada and Rhode Island. With 12%
of America's population, California has one third of the nation's
welfare recipients.
Partly due to generous union wages and benefits, inflexible work rules
and lobbying for more spending, many state programs and institutions
spend too much and achieve too little. For example, annual spending on
each California prison inmate is equal to an entire middle-income
family's after-tax income. Many of California's K-12 public schools rank
poorly on standardized tests. The unfunded pension and retiree
health-care liabilities of workers in the state-run Calpers system,
which includes teachers and university personnel, totals around $250
billion [...]
No one should write off California. It still has great strengths. And it
can turn some of its short-term challenges, such as the pressures from
ethnic and linguistic diversity (the state is now 37% Hispanic and 13%
Asian), into long-term strengths in the global economy. But the
political class must face up to the reality that services will have to
be far more carefully targeted; the tax system overhauled with lower
rates on a broader base of economic activity and people (almost half of
all Californians pay no state income tax); and inefficient state
programs reformed to spend less and produce far better outcomes..."
Since the beginning of the eighties Mexicans of partly American-Indian
derivation (Hispanics) and Asiatics have increased their numbers with at
least 10 millions. The greater part of the immigrants work in the black
market or with low-paid jobs. Only 1.5% of the recently settled
population contributes with income tax to the California state economy
while at the same time enjoying all the services (social, medicinal, et
al.) that the state offers on account of liberal reform. At the same
time, Whites have begun to leave California. In 1970, approximately 80%
of the Californians were of European derivation. Today, it is down to
40%, a figure that is projected to drop, while Hispanic and Asiatic
immigration will continue.
Despite the fact that world-leading economic centra (Hollywood and
Silicon Valley) are located in California, the world's eight economy
today suffers from a permanent budget crisis. Some debaters believe that
these are the future consequences for the American nation as a whole.
M. Winther
reforms to reverse its economic decline."
(wsj.com)
"...From the mid-1980s to 2005, California's population grew by 10
million, while Medicaid recipients soared by seven million; tax filers
paying income taxes rose by just 150,000; and the prison population
swelled by 115,000.
California's economy, which used to outperform the rest of the country,
now substantially underperforms. The unemployment rate, at 10.9%, is
higher than every other state except Nevada and Rhode Island. With 12%
of America's population, California has one third of the nation's
welfare recipients.
Partly due to generous union wages and benefits, inflexible work rules
and lobbying for more spending, many state programs and institutions
spend too much and achieve too little. For example, annual spending on
each California prison inmate is equal to an entire middle-income
family's after-tax income. Many of California's K-12 public schools rank
poorly on standardized tests. The unfunded pension and retiree
health-care liabilities of workers in the state-run Calpers system,
which includes teachers and university personnel, totals around $250
billion [...]
No one should write off California. It still has great strengths. And it
can turn some of its short-term challenges, such as the pressures from
ethnic and linguistic diversity (the state is now 37% Hispanic and 13%
Asian), into long-term strengths in the global economy. But the
political class must face up to the reality that services will have to
be far more carefully targeted; the tax system overhauled with lower
rates on a broader base of economic activity and people (almost half of
all Californians pay no state income tax); and inefficient state
programs reformed to spend less and produce far better outcomes..."
Since the beginning of the eighties Mexicans of partly American-Indian
derivation (Hispanics) and Asiatics have increased their numbers with at
least 10 millions. The greater part of the immigrants work in the black
market or with low-paid jobs. Only 1.5% of the recently settled
population contributes with income tax to the California state economy
while at the same time enjoying all the services (social, medicinal, et
al.) that the state offers on account of liberal reform. At the same
time, Whites have begun to leave California. In 1970, approximately 80%
of the Californians were of European derivation. Today, it is down to
40%, a figure that is projected to drop, while Hispanic and Asiatic
immigration will continue.
Despite the fact that world-leading economic centra (Hollywood and
Silicon Valley) are located in California, the world's eight economy
today suffers from a permanent budget crisis. Some debaters believe that
these are the future consequences for the American nation as a whole.
M. Winther
