Post: #1

Did you guys read his NY Times article on California?? I can't believe people take this guy serious. He is the biggest, leftist, democractic hack I have ever seen...

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01...n-surplus/

According to Krugman California is on the rebound, and if it wasn't for the small minority of GOP republicans California wouldn't have been in bad shape.

What is he smoking?

I love California the state, but politically California has:

• The highest unemployment rate in the country
• The highest state taxes
• The highest gasoline prices
• The highest debt liabilities
• 1/3 of all welfare in the United States
  

How can you praise California when the unemployment rate is rated 50 out of 50 states??

What state is run worse? Michigan?

I enjoy reading columnists on both the left and the right, but I can't stand Krugman.

Post: #2

(04-02-2013 05:46 PM)TheCaptainPower Wrote:  Did you guys read his NY Times article on California?? I can't believe people take this guy serious. He is the biggest, leftist, democractic hack I have ever seen...

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01...n-surplus/

According to Krugman California is on the rebound, and if it wasn't for the small minority of GOP republicans California wouldn't have been in bad shape.

What is he smoking?

I love California the state, but politically California has:

• The highest unemployment rate in the country
• The highest state taxes
• The highest gasoline prices
• The highest debt liabilities
• 1/3 of all welfare in the United States
  

How can you praise California when the unemployment rate is rated 50 out of 50 states??

What state is run worse? Michigan?

I enjoy reading columnists on both the left and the right, but I can't stand Krugman.

How did you get all that from that article. He stated California's spending cuts and revenue (taxation) increases is gradually improving the state's deficit to more modest levels through a more balanced budget.

He didn't provide figures or facts given it was a 2 paragraph blog post, but the whole purpose of that post was, as he states, to talk about the improvement of the California budget crisis, not gas prices, high taxes, or unemployment, which you allude to.......

And really, is there ANY other way to balance the budget than to cut costs and increase revenue? No...but my understanding is California is one of the few states to actually do those on a significant level. I don't follow state political economy too much though.

Post: #3

(04-02-2013 05:46 PM)TheCaptainPower Wrote:  [*]The highest state taxes

Is that true?

Higher than NY and IL?

Post: #4

When it comes to California, you get what you pay for. Would you rather live in Kansas? I hear the taxes and gasoline are pretty cheap there.

Post: #5

Hey G,

I think Cali pushed the state tax over 10% for at least high earners. NY is up there also, but they proposed raising it for next year so I'm not 100% sure if Cali or NY are in the lead. The top 4 are always between California, NY, NJ and IL...

I'm not in the top bracket yet : (

Post: #6

Hey T,

I would take Miami or Austin (zero state taxes), over most cities in California. I'm not saying NY is any better, but if you tell me California is in good or improving shape you are crazy....

Post: #7

Hey Capt., can give you give us numbers and links?

Post: #8

Sorry, wrong article link....


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/opinio...aulkrugman

Post: #9

Top Cali income tax bracket is taxed at >13%. Retroactive to 2012. Voter approved, you know...for the "school children" (read: teacher pensions).

Increased sales tax as well. Hovering around 9-10% now.

Post: #10

From what I understand California and its diversity-at-all-costs project has definitively gone over the ledge, destroyed itself - financially, culturally, socially, legally, environmentally, a precusor of what great things await the rest of the US based on its current trajectory.

Post: #11

This is the Government bls unemployment list:

http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

California is in a 3 way tie for last in the United States

Gasoline they only beat Hawaii:

http://gasbuddy.com/GB_Price_List.aspx

WOW, welfare they DESTROY everyone by a lot!

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/eco_wel...recipients

Post: #12

This is a false dilemma. In Sudan you can have more than one wife. In America you can only have one. Where would you rather live?

(04-02-2013 06:34 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  When it comes to California, you get what you pay for. Would you rather live in Kansas? I hear the taxes and gasoline are pretty cheap there.

Post: #13

(04-02-2013 06:36 PM)TheCaptainPower Wrote:  Hey G,

I think Cali pushed the state tax over 10% for at least high earners. NY is up there also, but they proposed raising it for next year so I'm not 100% sure if Cali or NY are in the lead. The top 4 are always between California, NY, NJ and IL...

I'm not in the top bracket yet : (

Yeah, that is why I had to bounce.

I just didn't know if NY or IL was worse.

Post: #14

If I was making more passive income, or if If my book was making Roosh money I would have to leave NY. I incorporated in Delaware : )

Thank god for the 401K at work (unless the go after it)

Post: #15

(04-02-2013 06:34 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  When it comes to California, you get what you pay for. Would you rather live in Kansas? I hear the taxes and gasoline are pretty cheap there.

Yeah, CA tax dollars are well spent. Great schools, roads, no homelessness, crime or poverty (in reality, you'll find Kansas outperforms CA on all these measures despite lower taxes).

Post: #16

(04-02-2013 05:46 PM)TheCaptainPower Wrote:  [*]1/3 of all welfare in the United States

According to this article, 46,609,072 people were on food stamps in the U.S in 2012

California, the most populous state in the U.S. has 3,964,221 people on food stamps. Texas, on the other hand, has 4,038,440. Florida is third with 3,353,064.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/4660...06745.html

Let’s take a look at the states with the highest levels of people on welfare:

1. Mississippi: 20.7%
2. Oregon: 20.1%
3. Tennessee 19.8%
4. New Mexico 19.8%
5. Michigan 19.7%
6. Louisiana 19.2%
7. Kentucky 18.8%
8. West Virginia 18.7%
9. Maine 18.6%
10. South Carolina 18.2%

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13...60233.html

Florida is at about 17.4%
Texas is not far below with 15.5%
California’s food stamp usage hangs around 10.5%, making it one of the lowest in the country and the lowest in welfare fraud.

Welfare is disproportionately used in traditionally Republican-voting states. California, New York, and also Texas are three of very few states paying more in federal taxes than they take in. Republican-stronghold states tend to be the moocher states, with the highest levels of federal spending per revenue, meaning their share of federal spending is substantially higher than federal revenue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_tax...g_by_state
https://sites.google.com/a/kamali.net/im...e-by-state

“Living in a state that gets more federal money than it gives in federal taxes is a powerful political factor in influencing voting for a Republican for President.”

http://www.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/0...eral-taxes

California and New York are more economically productive than Texas and Florida, especially when you consider that the latter two are also quite urbanized.

http://stateimpact.npr.org/new-hampshire...-in-point/

Post: #17

So, I was just listening to the Peter Schiff Show and they had a guest on March 29 which publishes a report called Freedom in the 50 States. Here's a synopsis of the guest:

Today's guest is Will Ruger, assistant professor at Texas State University & affiliated scholar with the Mercatus Center, on "Freedom in the 50 States," a new study rating states' protection of liberty, and what the stats show about the correlation between freedom and economic prosperity.

The website is pretty cool, and you can select different parameters at the top for a visual breakdown. It is pretty detailed. You can even select parameters like "Tobacco" to see how each state ranks. Here's a screenshot [resized to 50%]:



Now let's get back to California and consider that you are a person who wants to start a business - meaning you own equity in a business you start that eventually one day you will sell. People don't escape the rat race from their salary usually, but through realizing a capital gain. The state of California doesn't differentiate regular income from capital gains - so when combined with a 20% federal capital gains rate you find yourself with the second highest capital gains rate in the world if you live in California (behind Denmark) and above France. Here is a great breakdown from [taxfoundation.org], I encourage everyone to read it. Here's a screenshot:



Where do Texas and Florida come in?



And here are the best countries:



Think about it. Where would you rather bust your ass hours on end for years and years creating something? California? or Texas? If you choose Texas you get to keep roughly and extra 30% of your capital gains profits when compared to California - in addition to no personal state income tax and a 1% marginal corporate tax rate for your business for all the years you operate there.

Edit: Don't forget Forbes article from 11/25/12, Do You Live In A Death Spiral State? California was the third worst state with 139 people relying on the government for their existence for every 100 private sector workers. Texas had 82 people relying on the taxes of every 100 private sector jobs.

Post: #18

(04-02-2013 07:24 PM)durangotang Wrote:  So, I was just listening to the Peter Schiff Show

Have you been investing in any of Schiff's Euro Pac mutual funds? Have you seen their performance? The guy has said several times he expects "the big crash" within this current presidential cycle that is going to make 2008 look like a walk in the park.

Post: #19

(04-02-2013 07:35 PM)Atilla Wrote:  

(04-02-2013 07:24 PM)durangotang Wrote:  So, I was just listening to the Peter Schiff Show

Have you been investing in any of Schiff's Euro Pac mutual funds? Have you seen their performance? The guy has said several times he expects "the big crash" within this current presidential cycle that is going to make 2008 look like a walk in the park.

No, I haven't invested in Euro Pac. I think Peter will ultimately be proven right, it is just a matter of timing which is a difficult thing to get right. What about you?

Post: #20

(04-02-2013 07:36 PM)durangotang Wrote:  

(04-02-2013 07:35 PM)Atilla Wrote:  

(04-02-2013 07:24 PM)durangotang Wrote:  So, I was just listening to the Peter Schiff Show

Have you been investing in any of Schiff's Euro Pac mutual funds? Have you seen their performance? The guy has said several times he expects "the big crash" within this current presidential cycle that is going to make 2008 look like a walk in the park.

No, I haven't invested in Euro Pac. I think Peter will ultimately be proven right, it is just a matter of timing which is a difficult thing to get right. What about you?

No, they've performed terribly. I'm overwhelmingly in index funds. I still like Peter Schiff's show, and listen regularly, but I also read Krugman, funnily enough. Just make sure you're careful and objective and don't invest too much of your hard-earned money in a person's theories. All of these people have their own interests in mind.

Post: #21

(04-02-2013 06:54 PM)TheCaptainPower Wrote:  This is the Government bls unemployment list:

http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

California is in a 3 way tie for last in the United States

California and Nevada had high growth (prior to the "great recession"), thus an influx of people from other areas coming to these states for work. People came here for work, and when the work was gone... well, now they're unemployed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP

California still has the highest GDP of any state in the US (and 13th per capita), which one might take to suggest that it still has one of the most active economies in the US.

Quote:WOW, welfare they DESTROY everyone by a lot!

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/eco_wel...recipients

WRONG list. By CASELOAD (are you that quick with your gun?)
Of course California is going to have one of the highest caseloads of welfare! California is the largest state by population! You ought to be looking at the per-capita list:

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/eco_wel...per-capita

And DC tops that list, big time. 7.8 out of every 100! California is at 3/100.

Post: #22

I disagree, the aggregate number is very important...

What is worse, 1 million people on welfare in a state of 20 million...

Or 10,000 in a city of 200,000?

A insolvent state of that size and magnitude can cause big problems. The percentage is almost irrelevant...

Post: #23

(04-02-2013 06:47 PM)PartyonBro Wrote:  Top Cali income tax bracket is taxed at >13%. Retroactive to 2012. Voter approved, you know...for the "school children" (read: teacher pensions).

Increased sales tax as well. Hovering around 9-10% now.

10% sales tax?

What in the acutal hell?

Post: #24

Another thing that you guys haven't really mentioned:

Regulation.

For example, there is a bill in the California legislature that would expand measure b (condoms on porn sets in LA county) statewide, effectively driving the entire porn industry out of California.

There thousands of regulations that make running a business expensive in California. California specializes in driving business out of the state. California may have been a paradise once, but not anymore. My parents still live there, but I am trying to get them to sell their house and move to Nevada.

Post: #25

(04-02-2013 08:38 PM)The Texas Prophet Wrote:  Another thing that you guys haven't really mentioned:

Regulation.

For example, there is a bill in the California legislature that would expand measure b (condoms on porn sets in LA county) statewide, effectively driving the entire porn industry out of California.

There thousands of regulations that make running a business expensive in California. California specializes in driving business out of the state. California may have been a paradise once, but not anymore. My parents still live there, but I am trying to get them to sell their house and move to Nevada.

When I was younger, I was always wanted to live in California. But after reading up on it, it's New Jersey, but even more expensive. Fuck that. I still would like to move out west eventually, but I'm still trying to decide where.