In June 2014, the Legislature directed the LAO to prepare a report analyzing the costs, benefits, and trade-offs of various options for a state earned income tax credit (EITC) that would supplement the federal credit. This report discusses considerations for adopting a state EITC and provides three options for the Legislature’s consideration.
State personal income growth averaged 1.0 percent in the third quarter of 2014, down from 1.2 percent in the second quarter, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Growth in personal income–the sum of net earnings by place of residence, property income, and personal current transfer receipts–slowed in 38 states and in the District of Columbia. The percent change across states ranged from -0.2 percent in South Dakota (the only state with a decline) to 1.4 percent in Texas. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, slowed to 0.3 percent in the third quarter from 0.6 percent in the second quarter.
Income inequality is in the headlines these days, and attention to this huge and growing problem is welcome. But to focus on inequality in income alone is to take a narrow view of the problem and what’s at stake. Mutually reinforcing inequalities in health, education, environment, neighborhood conditions, wealth, and political power have created an opportunity divide that higher wages alone cannot bridge.
In 2013, Hispanics had an estimated after-tax income of more than $605 billion. That figure is equivalent to almost one out of every 10 dollars of disposable income held in the United States that year. Foreign-born Hispanic households made up a sizeable portion of that figure: We estimate their spending power totaled $287 billion that year.
A new analysis from the California Budget Project (CBP) looks at how California could create its own state EITC and shows that a refundable state credit could provide an economic boost for more than 3 million households. In addition, a state EITC would help rebalance California’s tax system, under which low-income families currently pay an outsize share of their incomes in state and local taxes, and would also strengthen our state’s social safety net.
Shipping companies are seeking the fastest route to move Asian goods to the U.S. Midwest, with a growing share of U.S.-bound cargo arriving first in Canada. The increased business suggests Canada’s efforts to exploit some natural geographic advantages by spending billions of dollars on its West Coast trade infrastructure are paying off.
Congestion, labor tensions and tax concerns at U.S. ports have also spurred some shippers to look north. . . Canada’s two big Pacific ports have a natural geographic advantage: relative proximity. Prince Rupert, for instance, is the closest North American port to Asia due to the curvature of the Earth, and is more than 68 hours closer to Shanghai by boat than Los Angeles, according to its port authority. It also boasts one of the world’s deepest natural ice-free harbors.
Employers in the state are still adding jobs at a faster pace than the rest of the country. But annual job growth nationwide expanded to a nine-month average of 1.8% this year from 1.7% in 2013, while the California rate has fallen to 2.2% from 3% last year.
“We have a problem,” said former California Gov. Gray Davis, a featured speaker at the summit. “Fewer people are working and those who are working are making less money.”
Southern California could be on an economic “collision course” fueled by low-paying jobs that offer little opportunity for upward mobility, economists said Thursday. . . Speakers such as former California State Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León and former Gov. Gray Davis were on hand for the release of reports that found two-thirds of projected job openings in Los Angeles County over the next five years will come from occupations that require a high school diploma or less and little to no work experience.
Falling energy prices held overall inflation in check last month, offering relief to consumers squeezed by tepid wage gains and rising costs for food and housing.
Personal income is the income that is available to persons for consumption expenditures, taxes, interest payments, transfer payments to governments and the rest of the world, or for saving. Personal income for 2013 ranged from $3.8 million in Loving County, Texas to $466.1 billion in Los Angeles County, California. Per capita personal income—personal income divided by population—is a useful metric for making comparisons of the level of personal income across counties. Per capita personal income for 2013 ranged from $17,536 in Telfair County, Georgia to $121,632 in New York County, New York.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2014, after decreasing 2.1 percent in the first quarter. Both private goods- and services-producing industries contributed to the increase, while the government sector decreased. Durable‐goods manufacturing; finance and insurance; and retail trade were the leading contributors.
Personal income increased $22.7 billion, or 0.2 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $15.7 billion, or 0.1 percent, in September, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased $19.0 billion, or 0.2 percent. In August, personal income increased $50.7 billion, or 0.3 percent, DPI increased $37.5 billion, or 0.3 percent, and PCE increased $58.7 billion, or 0.5 percent, based on revised estimates.
Real gross domestic product — the value of the production of goods and services in the United States, adjusted for price changes — increased at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2014, according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 4.6 percent.
The U.S. economy expanded at a healthy pace during the third quarter, a sign of sustained growth fueled by government spending and a narrower trade deficit despite mounting concerns about the health of overseas economies.