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California's Economy Struck a Liberal Iceberg Long Before the Recession
Everybody knows that Californias economy has struggled mightily since the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. The states current unemployment rate, 12.1 percent, is a full 3 percentage points above the national rate. Liberal pundits and politicians tend to blame this dismal performance entirely on the Great Recession; as Jerry Brown put it while campaigning (successfully) for governor last year, Ive seen recessions. They come, they go. California always comes back.But a study commissioned by City Journal using the National Establishment Time Series database, which has tracked job creation and migration from 1992 through 2008 (so far) in a way that government statistics cant, reveals the disturbing truth. Californias economy during the second half of that period2000 through 2008was far less vibrant and diverse than it had been during the first. Well before the crisis struck, then, the Golden State was setting itself up for a big fall. What is behind Californias shocking declineits snuffed-out start-ups, unproductive big cities, poorer jobs, and tinier, weaker, or fleeing companiesduring the 20002008 period? Steven Malangas Cali to Business: Get Out! identifies the major villains: suffocating regulations, inflated business taxes and fees, a lawsuit-friendly legal environment, and a political class uninterested in business concerns, if not downright hostile to them. One could add to this list the states extraordinarily high cost of living, with housing prices particularly onerous, having skyrocketed in the major metropolitan areas before the downturnthanks, the research suggests, to overzealous land-use regulation. Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2011-11-18 |
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