California water agencies are on track to satisfy a state mandate to reduce water consumption 20 percent by 2020. But according to their own projections, that savings won’t be enough to keep up with population growth just a decade later.
One of the main reasons for the disparity is the difference between California and the nation when it comes to the cost of housing – and this is readily apparent in the new numbers released by the BEA. The state has been in the midst of a housing shortage for years now, due in large part to regulatory hurdles such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other legislation that constrains construction. The lack of supply pushes up prices and forces residents to commit more of their disposable income to housing. According to the real estate research firm DataQuick, the median price for an existing home in California was $388,000 in December 2014, nearly double the national median home price of $209,500, as reported by the National Association of Realtors.
Business owners today struggle to comply with the multitude of laws and regulations that apply to the employer-employee relationship. But what happens if you don’t comply? How are workplace laws and regulations enforced? Sometimes government agencies are involved in enforcement of such laws, but most often it is the employees themselves who take the lead. A new form of such claim is becoming more prevalent in California today – the “Private Attorney General” or “PAGA” lawsuit.
The retail restraint is somewhat surprising given that the average household is expected to save hundreds of dollars this year on gas that averaged $2.23 a gallon on Thursday, down from $3.32 a year ago, according to auto club AAA. Americans appear to be saving the money they’re not spending at the pump, or using any excess funds on services that don’t show up in the retail-sales report.
Opponents of the auctions, led by business interests, believe the transportation fuels auction will force companies to pass on their costs to consumers, resulting in higher prices.
Businesses have long complained about the gross-receipts tax, both because its rates are higher than in other cities and because it’s a tax on top-line revenues, before operating expenses and other business costs are factored in. Several major business groups have called for the elimination of the tax altogether, a stance supported by a special city committee two years ago. The say dropping the tax would drive business investment in the city.
In 2008, independent economists hired by the California Air Resources Board to review its plans to implement AB 32, the state’s landmark anti-global warming law, warned officials against presenting the measure as a broad boon to the state economy. Forcing California to use a higher percentage of cleaner but costlier fuels by 2020 was likely to hurt industries that competed with states and nations with lower energy costs, especially manufacturers. The most renowned of the economists, Harvard’s Robert Stavins, offered the sharpest critique and warned the air board that it risked discrediting itself if it didn’t acknowledge the law’s downside.
“Instead of cherry-picking job creation in favored industries benefiting wealthy areas, we should be growing jobs in impoverished communities that continue to suffer from disgracefully high unemployment rates,” Vidak said.
The release of climate change proposals by Senate Democrats on Tuesday quickly spawned a heated debate over the direction of California’s economy and the potential effect of new environmental regulations.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that the goods and services deficit was $46.6 billion in December, up $6.8 billion from $39.8 billion in November, revised. December exports were $194.9 billion, down $1.5 billion from November. December imports were $241.4 billion, up $5.3 billion from November.
Instead of including the 50 percent target in the state’s existing regulatory framework, the utilities argue, California should require increased carbon reduction through other, more flexible means. They say other approaches could cost less while still achieving environmental goals.
With well over 300 billion vehicle-miles of pavement-pounding travel each year, our highways and local roads and streets are in sad shape. California not only has the nation’s worst traffic congestion but the nation’s second worst pavement conditions.
An extra $2 billion annually over five years would help fill the gap under Atkins’ plan, with about $1.8 billion of it flowing from a new fee on all drivers. Atkins said she has not yet determined how the fee would be assessed but estimated it would amount to roughly a dollar a week.
Petroleum imports accounted for less than 20% of the nation’s trade deficit last year, down from more than 40% only five years earlier, according to figures for 2014 released Thursday.
California has many built-in advantages – including but not limited to its climate, natural resources, diverse population, and university system, but California’s setbacks, such as its high tax regime, its volatile budget, its high cost of living, and its burdensome regulatory environment, are increasingly overshadowing them. When Californians celebrate the overall rising of the tide, they ignore the boats left behind. It is time for Governor Brown and other California leaders to start pushing a growth agenda to ensure JFK’s words hold true.