California

[gsganzer]

Help wanted signs are no sign of employment. I have been told that in our small town 28% of working age adults are on some type of public assistance. Yet all the businesses have help wanted signs in the windows. The landscapers working in our back yard as I type are very hard working Mexicans. Because the business they work for cannot get Americans to work. The lady in charge said they had one guy last three days earlier in the year. He lasted longer than the other six or seven they hired.

Why work when you can get money for sitting on your butt?

RSKY

The farm I worked at when I was a kid now employs all Vietnamese. The farm owner said he can't find any kids that want to do farm work anymore. And the ones he does find, aren't worth the hassle.

 

[aircommuter]

The unemployment numbers do not mean too much, when people run out of unemployment the number drops. The jobs that are created are working in the government for the welfare department, or Cal-Trans, who has 3500 employees that are not needed (per recent audit) they do not get rid of them because Jerry (recycled governor) gets his campaign funds from their union. These extra employees cost the taxpayers $550 million per year and they will continue to cost more as their underfunded retirement will come from the general fund. There are also new jobs working for union construction companies doing government work, funded once again by the taxpayers. Jerry is trying to build his train-set so he can have his name along side the tracks like his daddy has on the canals.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Forbes did an article on what kind of jobs are being created in California.

Forbes Welcome

 

[California]

Forbes did an article on what kind of jobs are being created in California.

Forbes Welcome

Great article. Note the second paragraph I've quoted here. Ag, military, feds employment all are down. Offsetting this is growth in sectors that are mostly newly invented since the Internet era - Amazon, warehouse clubs, on-call temps, on the low-wage end, with websiete design, internet publishing etc in the over $100k category. Looks to me the occupations where illegals can work are getting squeezed, they aren't a component of job growth.

Some excerpts:

"no state added more nonfarm payroll jobs from March 2013 to March 2014 than California, a total of 325,000 over the last year.

When we factor in agriculture, military, and miscellaneous federal government jobs California had 293,000 fewer jobs in 2013 than at its low in 2007, a 2% decline. Yet according to EMSI痴 latest data release, it had the most total job gains of any state from 2010 to 2013 (904,000) and the most new jobs from 2012 to 2013 (341,000). Both marks rank sixth per capita among all states.

...

"The one industry in California that jumps off the page for its brisk growth is warehouse clubs and supercenters. Walmart, Costco, and other retail centers covered in this industry have nearly doubled their employment from 2010 to 2013 (from just under 50,000 jobs to 97,500). Even from 2012 to 2013, the industry grew 21%.

Average earnings in warehouse clubs and supercenters are $35,961, making it one of several low-paying industries (along with temporary help services, full-service restaurants, and fast food eateries) that has fueled California痴 recovery.

But sectors on the bottom of the earnings spectrum aren稚 the only ones that have grown. Computer systems design services, wired telecommunications carriers, management of companies and enterprises, and internet publishing and broadcasting and web search portals have all taken off. Earnings per job in each of these industries are north of $100,000 per year (in the case of internet publishing, they?*e $293,431 annually).

Other strong, high-paying performers include electronic shopping (36% growth from 2010 to 2013) and software publishers (18% growth).

 

[300UGUY]

Every time there is a recession, California makes the news. I guess having the largest economy in the country, everybody wants to see how the big dog is doing.

 

[downsizingnow48]

It seems pretty clear CA is now creating lots of good jobs. After years of decline. Still looking for the reasons why the change.

 

[300UGUY]

It's all good, Cramby.

My Aunt told me a story about a developer in Toronto who built an 'Estate' of McMansions and then couldn't get a water consession. He kept staring & pointing at Lake Ontario and all the fresh water and couldn't understand why he couldn't have access to it. Yes, there's a huge amount of volume but a limited amount of flow between all of them. Take too much from one of the Lakes and it will effect all of the others.

I guess I don't understand the idea. Ontario is full of water. In much of this part of the world, having a basement is difficult, because the water table is so high. We have artesian wells around here, people pound a pipe in the ground, and water pours out, without pumping. You could build a lot of McMansions around here, and running it of water wouldn't be a issue. Lakefront property, on the other hand is very expensive. Maybe Toronto didn't want to give him water and sewer access. Hard to believe he would build without securing that.

 

[ultrarunner]

Right now some Bay Area cities have housing projects in the works that are fully approved... low income housing, senior housing and even a school...

All are on hold because the of water allotments.

Things are much different in Northern California than Southern... not a green lawn anywhere around me... all are now just dirt for the most part.

 

[flusher]

Right now some Bay Area cities have housing projects in the works that are fully approved... low income housing, senior housing and even a school...

All are on hold because the of water allotments.

Things are much different in Northern California than Southern... not a green lawn anywhere around me... all are now just dirt for the most part.

Yep. Here in Sacramento brown is the new green.
Homeowners are slowly replacing water-guzzling grass lawns with xeriscape designs. Most of them look a lot better than lawns, IMHO.

 

[California]

What gripes me is Wall Street and overseas investors are planting large tracts of water-loving walnuts and almonds in the Central Valley as an investment strategy to hold on to senior water rights that adhere to the land they bought.

The crop and the present water it needs is irrelevant, this is long term strategy to control a scarce resource. I think Nestle was the first to recognize and act on the strategy of buying up water rights.

An early example near Sacramento was a local investor bought Mace Ranch near Davis (and UC-Davis) not to farm, but to sell its grandfathered water allotment to the Davis water district. City of Davis could have bought that adjacent land, or a portion of its water rights, but missed that opportunity. Now they're paying for their mistake, while the investor makes a good return on his money.

 

[ultrarunner]

Government is often too slow to act... and this is why everything costs more in most cases.

When the Olympia brewery shut down it took years to figure out the water rights and it had a tremendous allocation... remember... It's the Water...

My brother has deeded water rights for his ranch... not much be some of the best water anywhere...

Different agencies have approached him and offered as much a 10k to purchase.

The ironic thing is the district was in negotiations for years to buy the entire parcel and elderly owners started to think by the time that happened they would be dead and buried...

 

[buickanddeere]

California Now World's Sixth-Largest Economy


If the state of California were its own country, it would have the sixth-largest economy in the world, ahead of 10th-place Brazil, ninth-place Italy, eighth-place India and, now, seventh-place France. California's economy trails only the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and, barely, the United Kingdom.

The state's economy grew by 4.1% in 2015, well ahead of overall U.S. growth of 2.4% and French growth of 1.1%. According to a report at Bloomberg News, four of the world's 10 largest companies are headquartered in California, including tech heavyweights Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB).

Bragging or complaining ?

 

[dragoneggs]

When the Olympia brewery shut down it took years to figure out the water rights and it had a tremendous allocation... remember... It's the Water...

... and a lot more. Was my old man's favorite beer.

 

[ultrarunner]

It was a family favorite too... got to luv those Artesians.

The Falls Terrace Restaurant across from the old brewery still serves Olympia beer.

 

[orezok]

What gripes me is Wall Street and overseas investors are planting large tracts of water-loving walnuts and almonds in the Central Valley as an investment strategy to hold on to senior water rights that adhere to the land they bought.

Unfortunately, it takes one gallon of water for every almond raised and their biggest market is Japan.

 

[TCJatko]

Yep, everything's great in California...for some. For others, maybe not: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents - San Jose Mercury News

 

[ultrarunner]

The thing is as soon as someone leaves there are people jumping in...

I doubt the population is declining.

Don't forget many that leave are cashing out and taking the money buying homes in other states which creates other issues.

I hear this all the time from friends in Oregon as to how Californians with cash are making so the local kids don't have a chance.

 

[California]

I hear this all the time from friends in Oregon as to how Californians with cash are making so the local kids don't have a chance.

Heck that's true within California as well. Money from all over the world is pouring in, bidding up real estate prices. These price increases fuel the speculation that ratchets up prices more. Kid starting out can't compete with millionaires outbidding them.

Price appreciation like this worked to my benefit 40 years ago. As a Carpenter I could buy and upgrade rentals in my off time. Upgrading combined with RE general market appreciation created new savings that paid for grad school and eventually got me to early retirement, something I never expected starting out. Periods of rapid appreciation are good times for those who can afford to invest in RE, hard times for anyone hoping to buy.

 

[ultrarunner]

Real Estate is always cyclical... at least I have gone through several downturns plus I remember walking past boarded up homes in Oakland on the way to school.

The city would sell the home of $1 to a person that moved in and made improvements and after 5 years you would have clear title...

Mostly painting, a new roof, cleanup would be enough to meet the fixing part.

Now those homes that went for a $1 back in the 70's are pushing 400k!

 

[smstonypoint]

During the 12 months ending June 30, the number of people leaving California for another state exceeded by 61,100 the number who moved here from elsewhere in the U.S., according to state Finance Department statistics. The so-called "net outward migration" was the largest since 2011, when 63,300 more people fled California than entered.

"The main factors are housing costs in many parts of the state, including coastal regions of California such as the Bay Area," said Dan Hamilton, director of economics with the Economic Forecasting Center at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

"California has seen negative outward migration to other states for 22 of the last 25 years."

California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents - San Jose Mercury News

Any idea whether the data account for undocumented immigrants?

Steve