photo courtesy of http://www.whatamimissinghere.com
For the last few years, many in the economic world have been cynical of states like Illinois, California and others for how bad their government books are when it comes to finances. Continue reading →
My problem with the environmental movement isn’t really one of theory but how much of a con game it is
Interesting demographic change has officially happened in California. More from the Los Angeles Times –
Continue reading →
This past winter there was a measle outbreak in California and it spread to a few states. Judging from social media and news, you would have thought an asteroid was about to hit the earth. Continue reading →
Joel Kotkin is the RC Hobbs Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University in Orange, California. He recently just published an article at the The Dialy Beast titled, “The Big Idea: California Is So Over”. It is well worth the read from a person who has lived in California and studied the politics/culture for multiple decades. Here is one snippet-
You can read the entire article here.
Washington Times and Stephen Moore put together a piece showing migration out of high tax states and migration into low tax states.
The least “regressive” tax states had average population growth from 2003 to 2013 that lagged below the national trend. The 10 most highly “regressive” tax states, including nine with no state income tax, had population growth on average 4 percent above the U.S. average. Why was that? Because states without income taxes have twice the job growth of states with high tax rates. Unlike the experts at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, most Americans think that fairness means having a job.
Read the rest here.
Mark J. Perry over at Carpe Diem Blog shows an amazing stat on the economy of Houston, Texas.
AMAZING CHART: From 2011 to 2014 (Jan-Oct), there have been more single-family permits issued in Houston than in CA http://t.co/5Abjn5vy0f—
Mark J. Perry (@Mark_J_Perry) December 03, 2014
With Detroit bankruptcy being approved just a few weeks ago look for many other municipalities and possibly states to use similar methods to fend off economically impossible to meet financial demands.
The next bankruptcy is best captured in the LA Times article entitled “California pension funds are running dry” :
The state’s pension goliath, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, had $281 billion to cover the benefits promised to 1.3 million workers and retirees in 2013. Yet it needed an additional $57 billion to meet future obligations.
The bill at the state teachers’ pension fund is even higher: It has an estimated shortfall of $70 billion.
Bankruptcy has already happened in some California towns.
Meanwhile, cash-strapped cities are facing escalating bills. Rising pension costs contributed to bankruptcies in Stockton, San Bernardino and Vallejo.
The man behind the transparency movement in California is state Controller John Chiang. He started a website tracking a towns finances for the public to see and it grew from there.
I’m currently relaxing in Oxnard, CA so I’ve had mornings skimming over the LA Times newspaper. They actually have a good business section and the editorials are as expected. I caught an article from their 7/31 edition in business section titled “L.A. To Revamp Zoning Code”. Before I begin, this blog takes the position that America is over regulated on every level of government. Many of these regulations are becoming petty and overlapping with other rules from various government entities. This makes business expansion and even home building very expensive and time consuming.
L.A. has a zoning code now over 800 pages of rules and amendments to rules. In 1946, the book only had 86 pages. The city council is now on a mission to revamp the book so it is less confusing and expensive for development. In the article, the city recently passed an ordinance that required businesses to put bicycle racks 50 feet from the door of the business but it collided with the American with Disabilities Act law of “an easy path to a door without bicycles blocking the path”. As the L.A. Times stated, it left the businesses coming to the city council for yet another amendment added to change the rule. Here are some other examples from the article of what just this one city faces in zoning:
– 60% of the zoning laws were just for certain districts but must be enforced everywhere.
– Want to build a single family home? That zoning has 300 different variations of rules.
– Starbucks found out if you wanted to have a store open up before 7 a.m. it needed a special permit. The cost was around $30,000 and waiting six months just for a decision.
– If you’re a small business or not a financially well off person looking to build a home you are less likely to get through the maze of rules. The system is designed so you have to hire consultant company or lawyers to get what you want approved.
Zoning laws usually are approved considerably easy to get passed. L.A. city council has now stated it will “take years” to change the code. Before regular citizens get a say, the council will consult with the groups that more than likely benefitted from the complex system.
Hoosier Econ 