{"id":75546,"date":"2016-11-24T00:27:20","date_gmt":"2016-11-24T00:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2016\/11\/24\/california-versus-trumpland\/"},"modified":"2016-11-24T00:27:20","modified_gmt":"2016-11-24T00:27:20","slug":"california-versus-trumpland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2016\/11\/24\/california-versus-trumpland\/","title":{"rendered":"California versus Trumpland"},"content":{"rendered":"

robertreich<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

California is now the capital of liberal America. Along with its neighbors Oregon and Washington, it will be a nation within the nation starting in January when the federal government goes dark.<\/p>\n

In sharp contrast to much of the rest of the nation, Californians preferred Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by a 2-to-1 margin. They\u00a0also voted to extend a state tax surcharge on the wealthy, and adopt local housing and transportation measures along with a slew of local tax increases and bond proposals.<\/p>\n

In other words, California is the opposite of Trumpland. <\/p>\n

The differences go even deeper. For years, conservatives have been saying that a healthy economy depends on low taxes, few regulations, and low wages.<\/p>\n

Are conservatives right? At the one end of the scale are Kansas and Texas, with among the nation\u2019s lowest taxes, least regulations, and lowest wages.<\/p>\n

At the other end is California, with among the nation\u2019s highest taxes, especially on the wealthy; toughest regulations, particularly when it comes to the environment; most ambitious healthcare system, that insures more than 12 million poor Californians, in partnership with Medicaid; and high wages. <\/p>\n

So according to conservative doctrine, Kansas and Texas ought to be booming, and California ought to be in the pits. <\/p>\n

Actually, it\u2019s just the opposite. <\/p>\n

For several years, Kansas\u2019s rate of economic growth has been the worst in the nation. Last year its economy actually shrank. \u00a0 <\/p>\n

Texas hasn\u2019t been doing all that much better. Its rate of job growth has been below the national average. Retail sales are way down. The value of Texas exports has been dropping.<\/p>\n

But what about so-called over-taxed, over-regulated, high-wage California? <\/p>\n

California leads the nation in the rate of economic growth \u2014 more than twice the national average. If it were a separate nation it would now be the sixth largest economy in the world. Its population has surged to 39 million (up 5 percent since 2010).<\/p>\n

California is home to the nation\u2019s fastest-growing and most innovative industries \u2013 entertainment and high tech. It incubates more startups than anywhere else in the world. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words, conservatives have it exactly backwards. <\/p>\n

Why are Kansas and Texas doing so badly, and California so well?<\/p>\n

For one thing, taxes enable states to invest their people. The University of California is the best system of public higher education in America. Add in the state\u2019s network of community colleges, state colleges, research institutions, and you have an unparalleled source of research, and powerful engine of upward mobility.<\/p>\n

Kansas and Texas haven\u2019t been investing nearly to the same extent.<\/p>\n

California also provides services to a diverse population, including a large percentage of immigrants. Donald Trump to the contrary, such diversity is a huge plus. Both Hollywood and Silicon Valley have thrived on the ideas and energies of new immigrants.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, California\u2019s regulations protect the public health and the state\u2019s natural beauty, which also draws people to the state \u2013 including talented people who could settle anywhere. <\/p>\n

Wages are high in California because the economy is growing so fast employers have <\/i>to pay more for workers. That\u2019s not a bad thing. After all, the goal isn\u2019t just growth. It\u2019s a high standard of living. <\/p>\n

In fairness, Texas\u2019s problems are also linked to the oil bust. But that\u2019s really no excuse because Texas has failed to diversify its economy. Here again, it hasn\u2019t made adequate investments. <\/p>\n

California is far from perfect. A housing shortage has driven rents and home prices into the stratosphere. Roads are clogged. Its public schools used to be the best in the nation but are now among the worst \u2013 largely because of a proposition approved by voters in 1978 that\u2019s strangled local school financing. Much more needs to be done. <\/p>\n

But overall, the contrast is clear. Economic success depends on tax revenues that go into public investments, and regulations that protect the environment and public health. And true economic success results in high wages. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure how Trumpland and California will coexist in coming years. I\u2019m already hearing murmurs of secession by Golden Staters, and of federal intrusions by the incipient Trump administration.<\/p>\n

But so far, California gives lie to the conservative dictum that low taxes, few regulations, and low wages are the keys economic success. Trumpland should take note. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

robertreich: California is now the capital of liberal America. Along with its neighbors Oregon and Washington, it will be a nation within the nation starting in January when the federal government goes dark. In sharp contrast to much of the rest of the nation, Californians preferred Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by a 2-to-1 margin. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “California versus Trumpland”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1185,9771,4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75546"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}