<p>I drive in all of the time, Zoosermom and use the Westside Highway. My brother and one son live on the West side. Never a squeegeeman yet.</p>
<p>“Ultimately, agriculture in California needs to become a much wiser steward of water resources” yup – I read somewhere that CA is one of the world’s biggest producers of rice. How does that make environmental sense in a semi desert?</p>
<p>We saw them many times in the fall. Also, when I leave at night they are often on 40th Street between Dyer and 9th. Often. How do you come in and out? And also at what times of day? The evening rush hour seems worst for both squeege men and aggressive beggars. Although I’ve always said that the guy on 41st Street by the Croatian Church is the best director of traffic in the entire city.</p>
<p>Too often. I have a ton of work needed on my teeth. I’ve been driving in 3 times a week because I sometimes bring my mother with me and drop her off, pick her up at my brother’s. Also DH is having some leg and foot problems so I’ve driven him in and picked him up.</p>
<p>The squeegee people probably duck out of sight when they see my junker. I have the perfect car for driving in NYC.</p>
<p>dstark,
It is great that CA has appeared to have balanced its budget. But balancing the budget doesn’t remedy the current negative aspects of CA. We have one of the highest unemployment rates, higher than average poverty rate, worse than average schools, one of the highest tax rates, horrible traffic/transportation options, a scary looming pension liability, a shrinking population of youth that is largely composed of low-income, uneducated immigrants, an unfriendly business climate, and more. Balancing our budget is a good start, but it doesn’t make those other issues go away.</p>
<p>" I read somewhere that CA is one of the world’s biggest producers of rice. How does that make environmental sense in a semi desert?"</p>
<p>Near where I live, the rice grows in areas that collect water in the winter, and runoff from the sierra in the early spring. Mostly near the Sacramento river and delta areas.</p>
<p>Still requires irrigation I guess.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.calrice.org/Environment/Balance+Sheet/Chapter+2+-+Water+Supply.htm[/url]”>http://www.calrice.org/Environment/Balance+Sheet/Chapter+2+-+Water+Supply.htm</a></p>
<p>What is the sales tax now in California?</p>
<p>cpt,
It varies by city/county. I think the range is about 7.5% - 9%. Where I live it is 8%.</p>
<p>State sales tax is 7.5 percent. Cities, counties and “special districts” (transit, parks, etc.) can impose local option taxes on top of that. I think the highest cumulative rate is 9 percent in Alameda County.</p>
<p>Just as a contrast: [BALFOUR:</a> State income taxes in peril - Washington Times](<a href=“http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/24/state-income-taxes-in-peril/]BALFOUR:”>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/24/state-income-taxes-in-peril/)</p>
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<p>All these different approaches all over the country right now are very interesting to watch.</p>
<p>I believe Texas, Alaska and Wyoming and Florida don’t have income taxes either, though I could be wrong.</p>
<p>Illegal immigration into the US has plunged. The immigrants who are already living in California, working hard, raising families and putting down roots, are simply yet one more wave of immigrants to a state that has survived and thrived with immigrants for hundreds of years.</p>
<p>California became American because of illegal immigrants 150 years ago - Americans moving into what was then Mexican territory. Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world came here seeking riches. Many stayed.</p>
<p>When the Transcontinental Railroad was built in the 1860s, thousands of Chinese laborers were imported to blast tunnels and build bridges through the High Sierras. Many stayed.</p>
<p>When the Second World War threatened humanity, millions of African-Americans moved to California’s great cities to work in war industries - erecting ships, riveting aircraft and welding tanks. Many stayed.</p>
<p>So pardon me if I’m not all bent out of shape over another great migration of hard-working people to California. Are there some societal problems coming from it? Sure. Will there be tough times? Of course. Is change easy? Never. But the strength of the Golden State is its diversity - from gold miners in the Sierra foothills to computer programmers in Silicon Valley, fruit-pickers in the San Joaquin to nuclear physicists in Berkeley. It is a place where a diverse array of people have come seeking new opportunity for three centuries.</p>
<p>Every time a migration happens, racism and nativism rear their ugly heads - they’re going to take our jobs, our land, our culture, our flag - and oh my God they have a different skin color. And every time, California became a stronger and better place because of what the immigrants built. </p>
<p>Californians see the scare tactics for what they are: thinly-veiled racism engaging in the politics of fear. That’s why the demagoguery doesn’t work anymore. Truth wins out.</p>
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<p>True, most areas saw declines in average sales prices in line with the rest of the country. My point is that, going forward, we should keep an eye on housing prices near the coast as a gauge of how the Prop 30 tax increase on high income households affects net migration of this group in California. Current market trends are showing an uptick in average sales prices, so if Prop 30 is going to have an unintended consequence we should see these graphs reverse in the next few years as the wealthy move away and the unclean hordes from inland areas snap up their properties. I’m not holding my breath. </p>
<p>[Malibu</a> average and median listing prices - Trulia.com](<a href=“Trulia: Real Estate Listings, Homes For Sale, Housing Data”>Trulia: Real Estate Listings, Homes For Sale, Housing Data)
[Newport</a> Beach average and median listing prices - Trulia.com](<a href=“Trulia: Real Estate Listings, Homes For Sale, Housing Data”>Trulia: Real Estate Listings, Homes For Sale, Housing Data)
[San</a> Francisco average and median listing prices - Trulia.com](<a href=“Trulia: Real Estate Listings, Homes For Sale, Housing Data”>Trulia: Real Estate Listings, Homes For Sale, Housing Data)</p>
<p>It would be very interesting to see where the next group of immigrants to California would come from. As someone who works with Mexican and other immigrants from Central America, their rate of immigration is slowing markedly, partly because of the economy and partly because of declining birth rates. It’s been very interesting to me on a personal level to see people immigrated here in previous years choose to go home after a while and demand that their governments do more for them, their families and their communities. With the birth rates such as they are in Asia, I wonder how big the numbers of Asian immigrants would be, also. </p>
<p>No point here, just a deep interest in demographics.</p>
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<p>It doesn’t look like they did a great job this time. Do you see California as “stronger and better” than it was 30 years ago? It doesn’t feel that way to me. </p>
<p>Texas supposedly has a high illegal immigrant population, and Texas seems to be doing better than CA. Texas must have gotten all the good ones. ;)</p>
<p>In the last five years or so in this area, the number of hardworking family people coming across the border has decreased, while the number of gang members and other criminals (and frankly, unattached young men looking for trouble) has increased. Prior to that time, the population here was just what the stereotype says. Hardworking people trying to make a better life for their families. Recently, also, we’ve seen a large increase of immigrants from areas in Mexico and Guatemala who not only don’t speak or read English, they don’t speak Spanish, either, and have no history of literacy in any language. That is really, really tough.</p>
<p>I’m sure it’s very different elsewhere.</p>
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<p>My prediction is that we are going to see this happening, but not necessarily due to Prop 30. CA has a large aging population that is not currently matched by the numbers of its youth. Unless we start seeing an influx of rich people from other places, the owners of those homes are going to eventually retire to smaller homes, move to assisted care, or die, and there won’t be enough wealthy buyers currently in CA to snap them all up.</p>
<p>Interesting, Bay. I didn’t realize there’s an age demographic disparity in CA. Yet another thing for us, California lovers/supporters, to worry about :(</p>
<p>Smaller houses? My brother is squeezed in his 3 bedroom ranch that is a little bigger than a double wide trailor home </p>
<p>Again, I am only familar with the main cities and areas in CA, but they seem to be having a steady flow of young people because of the job and pay available there. I would think that CA elderly would move to Nevada, Arizona, Texas where it is cheaper to live and find some assisted care facility that is affordable. </p>
<p>I know a number of Californians including close friends who have had to look out of state to find high quality assisted living and nursing time homes for their parents. A close friend of ours ended up moving along with her mother (who is in a nursing home) when she realized that commuting to LA was cheaper for time she had to be on site than living there. Her standard of living went up by quite a bit when she made the move due to the difference in housing cost, never mind tax issues. But what compelled the move was that she could find no affordable options for her elderly mother in CA that she felt met the standard she wanted. </p>
<p>In the Silicon Valley area, they are lined up to buy those old people’s homes. I guess their homes are their retirment nest eggs. Take that money and run to someplace cheaper.</p>
<p>Not knocking it at all. I have no intentions of staying here in NY once the job situation is no longer an issue. I just hope the housing market rebounds so that when I sell my house, I could make out like Californians doing the same thing . I didn’t buy at the peak of the market but I’m not going to walk away with much if any home equity these days from my house sale, and finding a buyer is not an easy thing around here. It’s getting better, but still not easy to sell a house here. Low cost houses and the highest cost mansions sell briskly, but upper level jumbo mortgage home sales are stagnant.</p>
<p>30 years ago was before Proposition 13.</p>
<p>Something to remember about California’s tax structure: Yes, income taxes and sales taxes are high. But property taxes are extremely low in comparison to many places. They are limited by the Constitution (Proposition 13) to 1 percent of assessed value, and the assessed value is only changed when the property changes ownership. So someone who bought a house for $30,000 in 1975 is still paying taxes as if the house is worth $30,000.</p>
<p>I posted this a long time ago on this thread: [Is</a> California’s Economic Future Threatened By Birth Dearth? - Investors.com](<a href=“http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/011513-640692-california-birth-dearth-threatens-economic-future.htm?p=full]Is”>http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/011513-640692-california-birth-dearth-threatens-economic-future.htm?p=full)</p>
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