As a Californian from the coast I feel your pain, but seriously compare this state to opioid country and we're doing great. Most of the people I knew from high school have had to leave because they can't afford it here now. But these are signs of a good economy and low poverty.
We are doing fine if you take out housing prices, and we are doing not great if you include them. Which is why everyone throughout the state is talking about the housing crisis. Unless you have some brilliant ideas like draining the SF Bay[0], housing is hard to do while simultaneously worrying about the environment.
Most of the people I knew from high school have had to leave because they can't afford it here now.
So most of the people you went to high school with have been forced to leave (for "opioid country"?) - why? Because they'd be poor otherwise? Maybe even homeless? That's a bit odd for a place that's "doing great".
But these are signs of a good economy...
These are signs of an economy with high cost of living, lots of high-paying jobs, and not much place in it for those who can't get one of those high-paying jobs.
... and low poverty.
"Most of the poor people leaving" is not normally what I think of when I hear "low poverty".
I mean, yes, if California weren't creating all these high-paying jobs, there wouldn't be the demand, and so housing would be affordable. That's all true. And yet, I think on your own evidence you're painting a happier face on the situation than it deserves.
I don't know where everyone has gone, because I'm not an obsessive Facebooker. But gentrification means the economy is doing well. It sucks if you're the one displaced. But the jobless rate is very low, and incomes are rising here. Not everyone can ride this wave, but that's capitalism in America. Yes we create more people living in cars. If we want to fix that, maybe build more housing and do UBI?
I understand the impulse to say everything is terrible, because it frequently is. But that doesn't mean it's not improving. The new challenges created are not larger than our successes in California.
Comments
As a Californian from the coast I feel your pain, but seriously compare this state to opioid country and we're doing great. Most of the people I knew from high school have had to leave because they can't afford it here now. But these are signs of a good economy and low poverty.
We are doing fine if you take out housing prices, and we are doing not great if you include them. Which is why everyone throughout the state is talking about the housing crisis. Unless you have some brilliant ideas like draining the SF Bay[0], housing is hard to do while simultaneously worrying about the environment.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reber_Plan
That was a bit gratuitous.
OK...
So most of the people you went to high school with have been forced to leave (for "opioid country"?) - why? Because they'd be poor otherwise? Maybe even homeless? That's a bit odd for a place that's "doing great".
These are signs of an economy with high cost of living, lots of high-paying jobs, and not much place in it for those who can't get one of those high-paying jobs.
"Most of the poor people leaving" is not normally what I think of when I hear "low poverty".
I mean, yes, if California weren't creating all these high-paying jobs, there wouldn't be the demand, and so housing would be affordable. That's all true. And yet, I think on your own evidence you're painting a happier face on the situation than it deserves.
I don't know where everyone has gone, because I'm not an obsessive Facebooker. But gentrification means the economy is doing well. It sucks if you're the one displaced. But the jobless rate is very low, and incomes are rising here. Not everyone can ride this wave, but that's capitalism in America. Yes we create more people living in cars. If we want to fix that, maybe build more housing and do UBI?
I understand the impulse to say everything is terrible, because it frequently is. But that doesn't mean it's not improving. The new challenges created are not larger than our successes in California.