Once A Desirous Destination Not So Much Anymore

California, America's version of the Land of Milk and Honey, is comparable to the Republic of Congo.

Middle class voters have been the bedrock of American democracy since the country was founded. It really has to be that way. If this isn't a middle class country, it can’t be a functioning democracy. But in California, which is at the leading edge of everything, middle class is vanishing. California's medium home price is twice the national average. It's got the country’s highest gas prices, it has some of the highest taxes as well. The results of all of this? You know what it is. The middle class is fleeing California. The ones staying are falling into the poverty. The state has the highest poverty rate in the United States. California’s Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality is identical to that in the republic of Congo. Literally.”

Homelessness is a problem in California. Of course the only fault is supply and demand capitalism. It is refreshing to hear Ronald Reagan blamed instead of "Orange Man" Bad.

To blame this all on California or Californians is lazy and wrong. The U.S. once had a national, federally funded safety net. Ronald Reagan took care of that, and it will take a president who is not craven and who can admit the obvious and maybe even withstand predictable whining from red-staters who don’t have a homeless crisis to restore it. (We do not have such a president.) But homelessness is particularly bad in California because housing prices are particularly bad in California. They are bad because of a lack of supply, yes, due to restrictive growth and zoning laws, but also distortions in demand. If nobody could afford to pay $1 million for a 950-square-foot bungalow in Palo Alto, nobody would. Since there are a precious few drunk on Silicon Valley treasure who can, they do—and anyone making real-person money is faced with a choice: fleeing the state, or living in an RV.

Of course there is no mention of illegal immigrants. Just a short 8 years ago they made up 7% of California's population.

Unauthorized immigrants make up 7 percent of California’s total population. But little is known about exactly where they live. This report presents the first authoritative estimates of this group within the state’s regions and counties. It shows the unauthorized living in all parts of California, with Shasta County housing the smallest share and the Monterey/San Benito County region the largest.

This report was supported with funding from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Who controls immigration and who fights for the rights of illegal aliens?

Not content to allow millions of illegal immigrants to populate their state, State and local officials have allowed their streets to be inhabited by mentally ill and addicted individuals.

The Times, however, found that about 67% had either a mental illness or a substance abuse disorder. Individually, substance abuse affects 46% of those living on the streets — more than three times the rate previously reported — and mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder, affects 51% of those living on the streets, according to the analysis.

California is a beautiful state. The weather is splendid. However, you could never pay me enough to move there.

posted by Misanthropic Humanitarian at 01:40 PM

| Access Comments