I get the following question, or something like it all the time.  This time it came by e-mail.  I thought I’d post my response.  Here’s the question: When looking at the economy, unemployment, and job growth…..what consideration is given to the impact of the decline of jobs and/or elimination of jobs in the public sector… Read more

California has pending legislation, AB 2529, to require an economic impact analysis of proposed new regulation. Its opponents correctly point out that AB 2529 will delay and increase the cost of new regulation. There will be lawsuits and arguments over the proper methodology and over assumptions. It is not easy to complete a thorough and… Read more

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times had an article on the decline of illegal immigration into the United States. It is unpopular to say this, but this is bad. There is lots of evidence that immigrants, including illegal immigrants, are a net positive to the economy. Here is a recent and typical research piece from the… Read more

I just finished California Crack Up by Joe Matthews and Mark Paul.  For me, the book was not quite fulfilling, and it took determination to read the final 30 pages or so.  There was some inconsistency.  The authors argue that Proposition 13 led to a concentration of power in Sacramento, but only a few pages… Read more

Well, this is interesting.  It seems that the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against New Jersey for securities fraud in marketing its debt.  Their problem was that they neglected to report some pension liabilities. I doubt that California has made that mistake, but State Treasurer, Bill Lockyer, has been very aggressive in attempting… Read more

Joel Kotkin has just published the best piece yet written on California and its diminished economic prospects.  Better yet, he used our data to support his work.  It is a relatively long article, but well worth the investment.  Indeed, it should be required reading for voters and policy makers everywhere.  As always, Joel has his… Read more

The California Builders Association announced today that California’s new home sales fell 46 percent in May over the previous year.  This is a big decline from an already weak market.  The question, of course, is what caused the decline. The easy answer is the expiration of federal incentives on April 30th, but that is not… Read more

NASSCO-General Dynamics announced that it was laying off 290 workers.  Here’s part of what the Union-Tribune had to say: “NASSCO-General Dynamics , the last major shipbuilder on the West Coast, laid off 290 of its 4,100 workers in San Diego on Monday because of a downturn in business and fluctuations in the repair work it… Read more

I receive the following question from a friend: “Yesterday, I read your newgeography.com post, Green Shoots and Immigration, in which you encouraged massive new immigration as a solution for our poorly performing economy. Today you blogged, Income Inequality and California’s Future, in which you call out international immigration as a catalyst for California’s growing low… Read more

Raghu Rajan has a piece on income equality and its impact on the recent financial crisis.  It’s the same theme he addressed in depth in his excellent recent book, Fault Lines.  As income inequality increases, politicians come under pressure.  They have three possible ways to address the problem: fix the underlying problem, wealth transfers, or… Read more