Red California, blue California

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Signs of renewed economic vitality emerge where liberal elites cluster. Funny, that

By Andrew Leonard

Albeit small and tentative, signs are beginning to emerge that California's economy may finally be headed on a solid path towards recovery. The state's finances improved marginally in December -- General Fund revenues came in $481 million higher than estimates contained in the most recent budget had predicted.

But the recovery is highly uneven, reports the Wall Street Journal's Cari Tuna. Coastal California is on the upswing while the inland regions are mired in an ongoing slump.

Unemployment rates are dipping and home prices are rebounding in the San Francisco Bay area, which is driven by its technology industry and exports, and in coastal Southern California, where entertainment and other industries are starting to benefit from the economic thaw. But in the state's Central Valley and Inland Empire regions, where the downturn struck earlier and harder, unemployment rates are still rising and the battered construction industry keeps shedding workers.

There's an obvious reason for the disparity. The Central Valley and Inland Empire were epicenters for the most outrageous speculative excesses of the housing boom. In contrast, the San Francisco Bay Area and coastal Southern California feature highly diverse economies that weren't completely devastated by the collapse of a single sector.

There's also an intriguing political dimension to the bifurcated economic outcomes. The Bay Area and coastal California trend liberal, while inland California is far more conservative. And that's worth pondering, when we think about how California's woes have been seen through a political prism in the larger national debate. Conservatives like to portray California's busted budget and reeling economy as the logical outcome of over-reaching big government combined with overly restrictive regulations. Liberals point to the strait-jacket imposed by Proposition 13 arguing that the requirement for a two-thirds majority to pass tax increases makes the state almost impossible to govern effectively.

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[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

So, the rich liberal elites keep getting richer, and the folks that feed their lazy asses keep getting shafted? You are one sick animal, Steven!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

So, the rich liberal elites keep getting richer, and the folks that feed their lazy asses keep getting shafted? You are one sick animal, Steven!

You need to get to the coastal towns more, Bill. Their teeming with working Americans who benefit directly from working in the entertainment industry or in a field of work that benefits from the entertainment industry - caterers, set builders, production crews. Lots of everyday folk that are working right now thanks to them Hollywood elites.

[The_Dude 1,142]

So, the rich liberal elites keep getting richer, and the folks that feed their lazy asses keep getting shafted? You are one sick animal, Steven!

Did you even read the article bill?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

You need to get to the coastal towns more, Bill. Their teeming with working Americans who benefit directly from working in the entertainment industry or in a field of work that benefits from the entertainment industry - caterers, set builders, production crews. Lots of everyday folk that are working right now thanks to them Hollywood elites.

I live in a coastal region, and we would like to see some of that supposed San Francisco wealth be passed around to her neighbors. It seems Nancy is squandering all her efforts to keep her constituents in line instead.

Did you even read the article bill?

Salon? Pfft.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I live in a coastal region, and we would like to see some of that supposed San Francisco wealth be passed around to her neighbors. It seems Nancy is squandering all her efforts to keep her constituents in line instead.

Salon? Pfft.

So you dismiss it out of hand and yet you still comment on something that you didn't bother to read. Right.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

So you dismiss it out of hand and yet you still comment on something that you didn't bother to read. Right.

What is it you are proffering? The excerpt blames Central California's woes on real estate speculation, and not the real issues that are killing the agriculture economy in that area.

There's an obvious reason for the disparity. The Central Valley and Inland Empire were epicenters for the most outrageous speculative excesses of the housing boom.

SoCal, with all its swimming pools, golf courses, and other extravagances, are what is causing 90% of the problems. Remove the log from your eye, before you talk about the cinder in mine.

[The_Dude 1,142]

What is it you are proffering? The excerpt blames Central California's woes on real estate speculation, and not the real issues that are killing the agriculture economy in that area.

SoCal, with all its swimming pools, golf courses, and other extravagances, are what is causing 90% of the problems. Remove the log from your eye, before you talk about the cinder in mine.

NorCal is just a drain on the rest of the state. Damn hippies.

I do agree with some of what is said. I've seen the homes and the market in the inland empire, and its outrageous.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

NorCal is just a drain on the rest of the state. Damn hippies.

I do agree with some of what is said. I've seen the homes and the market in the inland empire, and its outrageous.

Why is it an empire, and why would anyone want to live there? That is not Central California. It's not even California. It's more like the back parking lot of SoCal.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Why is it an empire, and why would anyone want to live there? That is not Central California. It's not even California. It's more like the back parking lot of SoCal.

I have friends that live there, and it's really not so bad. It gets a bad rap for being a little white trash.

The article however isn't about NorCal vs. SoCal, it is about coastal areas starting to recover while inland areas are not. So move closer to the beach bill and stop whining

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I have friends that live there, and it's really not so bad. It gets a bad rap for being a little white trash.

The article however isn't about NorCal vs. SoCal, it is about coastal areas starting to recover while inland areas are not. So move closer to the beach bill and stop whining

I am already 16 miles from the mouth of the Russian River. How close should I get? The coastal counties in the state, with the exception of a few, are not seeing this prosperity that the article claims. Drive along the midstate, and north of SF, and you will see the true condition of the California economy.

ETA: And it is not a Red/Blue issue. This part of the state thinks Obama is a god.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Lone Ranger

[scandal 951]

I've driven through the Modesto, Merced, Fresno Bakersfield corridor along CA-99. It's an entirely different California than what one sees along the Coast, either in NorCal or SoCal. I feel badly for those communities who saw their land values rise on the speculative bubble as coastal denizens moved into the Central Valley, only to see the whole thing collapse on them. I'm sure they'd just as soon never have had the tens of thousands who moved from Alameda and Contra Costa counties into Tracy, Modesto and Stockton.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I've driven through the Modesto, Merced, Fresno Bakersfield corridor along CA-99. It's an entirely different California than what one sees along the Coast, either in NorCal or SoCal. I feel badly for those communities who saw their land values rise on the speculative bubble as coastal denizens moved into the Central Valley, only to see the whole thing collapse on them. I'm sure they'd just as soon never have had the tens of thousands who moved from Alameda and Contra Costa counties into Tracy, Modesto and Stockton.

Still with us? That's good news. I was worried about the Manning effect.

[scandal 951]

Still with us? That's good news. I was worried about the Manning effect.

I got bored of the hanging, and decided to come inside for some hot cocoa and cookies. It's cold in my garage.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I've driven through the Modesto, Merced, Fresno Bakersfield corridor along CA-99. It's an entirely different California than what one sees along the Coast, either in NorCal or SoCal. I feel badly for those communities who saw their land values rise on the speculative bubble as coastal denizens moved into the Central Valley, only to see the whole thing collapse on them. I'm sure they'd just as soon never have had the tens of thousands who moved from Alameda and Contra Costa counties into Tracy, Modesto and Stockton.

It more like the Greater Los Angeles, and San Francisco Bay Area, are the anomalies. Folks move further out to be able to find more affordable homes. That drives up prices in the outlying areas. When the economies tank in the congested urban area, then the demand for housing decreases, and home prices in the long commute areas fall. The folks that were already living in Stockton, Modesto, Bakersfield, etc., just notice a normalizing of prices, not a collapse. Same thing is happening in the coastal areas as well, in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, as well as the areas north of San Francisco.