NC Media Watch

California misses the top ten of Best Cities

Russ Steele

Milken Institute has published it's Best-Performing Cities Index. California cities are not in top ten of the big cites or top ten of the little cities.

Leaders in this year's index, which ranks U.S. metros based on their ability to create and sustain jobs, are all metros that succeeded in avoiding the worst of the economic declines driven by falling housing markets and job losses in manufacturing and global trade. The 2009 Top 10 performers (with 2008 rankings) of the 200 largest metros are:
    1.    Austin-Round Rock, TX (4)
    2.    Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX (13)
    3.    Salt Lake City, UT (3)
    4.    McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX (7)
    5.    Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX (16)
    6.    Durham, NC (21)
    7.    Olympia, WA (9)
    8.    Huntsville, AL (5)
    9.    Lafayette, LA (14)
    10.    Raleigh-Cary, NC (2)

Regional economic factors also strongly influenced the rankings this year, with the oil and gas sector, technology and alternative energy providing stability among metros in Texas, North Carolina, Washington and Louisiana, which also benefited from low dependence on housing/construction. Austin in particular has been helped by its strong tech industry. It is the first metro to rank No. 1 twice on the index, the last time being in 2000.

The Milkin Institute has created an interactive tool that lets readers check there favorite cities ranking here.

Important Comment bumped to a Post

Russ Steele

Below is a comment by Steve Enos on Economy Trumps Green Jobs.  This is an issue being discussed on Fox News by economic experts - the solution recommended was cut spending!  But, many states are hoping for a Federal bailout. California is 12-14 Billion in the hold. We can expect more cuts, he has run out of accounting tricks.

Steve Enos wrote:

California is not alone... seems one of the states "barreling toward an economic disaster similar to California's ongoing fiscal crisis" is... FLORIDA... and Nevada and Arizona are on the list too!

Dixon, what's up with Florida? Who has been running Florida? Did Jeb set the stage or...? A study released Wednesday warns that nine states are barreling toward an economic disaster similar to California's ongoing fiscal crisis that has been marked by IOUs and budget-busting deficits. The budget woes could mean higher taxes, accelerated layoffs of government employees, more crowded classrooms and fewer services in the coming year for some of the nation's most populous states.

Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin join California as those most at risk of fiscal calamity, according to the report by the Pew Center on the States. Double-digit budget gaps, rising unemployment, high home foreclosure rates and built-in budget constraints are the key reasons. The analysis urged lawmakers and governors in those states to take quick action to head off a wider economic catastrophe. The 10 states account for more than one-third of America's population and economic output, according to the report.

"While California often takes the spotlight, other states are facing hardships just as daunting," said Susan Urahn, managing director of the Washington, D.C.-based center. "Decisions these states make as they try to navigate the recession will play a role in how quickly the entire nation recovers." California leads the most vulnerable states identified by Pew, which describes it as having poor money-management practices. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, California has made nearly $60 billion in budget adjustments _ in the form of cuts to education and social service programs, temporary tax hikes, one-time gimmicks and stimulus spending _ since February as tax revenues plunged. Many of those fixes aren't expected to last.

The state's temporary tax hikes will begin to expire at the end of 2010, while federal stimulus spending will begin to run out a year after that. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger estimates California will likely run a deficit of between $12.4 billion and $14.4 billion when he releases his next spending plan in January. The top estimate amounts to 17 percent of the state's $84.6 billion general fund budget, the main account for day-to-day spending. General fund spending in California has dropped nearly $20 billion over the past two years. The governor warned that the toughest cuts are ahead.

Which one is NIMBY Propaganda (Up dated 11/09/09)

Russ Steele

Recently Citizens Looking At Impact of Mining - Grass Valley, or CLAIM-GV, published this picture of what the Idaho Maryland Mine would look like on the skyline of Grass Valley. A very emotionally disturbing picture for sure, with the huge smoke stacks sending plumes of gasses into Grass Valley's clean air. But, is it based on reality? 




The Idaho Maryland Mine Manager sent this rendering to a local blogger who has been critical of the mine. Note the missing stacks. 

 

Which one is propaganda?  The top one? The bottom one? Both?  Keep reading.

Nevada County Second Quarter Sales Tax down 23.4%

Russ Steele

The Weekly CEO Letter has a County Sales Tax Update for the 2nd Quarter - 2009:

Actual sales activity was down 17.5% when reporting aberrations were factored out. Adjusted for aberrations, taxable sales for all of Nevada County, including its cities, declined 23.4% over the comparable time period, while the Far North region as a whole was down 20.1%.

The Grocery Stores with out alcohol numbers were inflated due to retroactive correction of previous reporting errors.

Guess California's October unemployment rate

Russ Steele

This is a Department of labor  graphic of how California's unemployment rate is tracking the US rate.

There was a 2.4 point difference between California and the US rate in September,  with what appears to be a growing gap.  Please put your guess what you think the California October rate will be in a comment. Will it be 14.6% or higher? Or, lower?

How is that hope and change for you? (updated)

Russ Steele

In October, the US unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent, the highest since April 1983, and nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline (-190,000). The largest job losses over the month were in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade.

Without Obama’s $787 billion porkulus bill we were told unemployment would be 8% and rising! What went wrong?  Could it be that Obama's administration gave the money to his crony friends to buy votes rather than create jobs?  Just asking, since we really do not know where the money went and the unemployment continues to climb. Something is not working as intended. 

UPDATE (7:20am) Heritage Foundation:

The economy shed another 190,000 jobs in October, bringing the number of jobs lost since Obama was sworn in to 3.8 million. Worse still, the unemployment rate rose from 9.8% to 10.2% percent. With only 130.8 million jobs in the U.S. economy, President Obama is now 7.8 million jobs short of what he promised the American people. That makes President Obama’s stimulus an objective failure

UPDATE #2 (12:34pm) This a more eye catching graphic. A picture is said to be worth a 1,000 words. (Click for a larger image)

Graphic provided by GOP.GOV

Policy Matters

Russ Steele

The Milken Institute's 2009 State of the State Conference was held on  October 20 in Los Angeles.  More than 600 attendees were given an in-depth look at the many challenges facing the state, along with solutions for solving them, including economic recovery. They now have the Conference Videos on line of the panel sessions here (www.milkeninstitute.org/sos2009).

Given the Nevada County Economic Resource Council is working on a Comprehensive Economic Development Plan for Nevada County, I was very interested in the Panel on Keeping Companies and High-Paying Jobs in California. We need a vision for where we want our economy to be in five-ten years, and some of the panel's insights should be considered in crafting that vision.

Session Speakers were:

David Crane, Special Advisor for Jobs and Economic Growth, Office of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Eric McAfee, Chairman, McAfee Capital
John Watson, Vice Chairman, Chevron Corporation
Perry Wong, Senior Managing Economist, Milken Institute

The Moderator was Nancy McFadden, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, PG&E Corp.

Below is a session summary, but it does not really capture the strong message from the panel in their own words -- we are over regulated. The most important discussion for Nevada County was the presentation and follow up by Perry Wong on the loss of high tech jobs in California. Below are some captured screen images from his presentation. The slides are only available to Millken Institute Members. My apology for the poor quality.

Now look at the peer states their high tech job loss was much less. Wong thinks many California high-tech jobs went to these states.

More insight on a jobless recovery

Russ Steele

James Cooke Writing at the American Thinker has some insights into our jobless recovery:

Past clues to the present jobless recovery

Why is this nation headed towards a jobless recovery? Simple. It's because our economy is undergoing a structural change that will make it more difficult for unemployed Americans to find work.

This is not the first time in our history an economic transformation has impacted the way Americans earn their livelihood. Our current economic downturn resembles the Long Depression of the 1880s, when the U.S. economy switched from farming to a manufacturing.

According to Cooke we are switching from manufacturing to services, which are being automated to reduce the labor content. Where automation will not work these service are sent off shore. Cooke suggests that until we invent new services that cannot be automated or sent off shore unemployment is going to remain high. If Cooke is right this is going to be a long long recovery for the unemployed.

The new normal - a recovery shedding jobs?

Russ Steele

The Sunday San Francisco Chronicle keeps shrinking, it is becoming almost painful to read every Sunday morning at the Flour Garden. However, this morning I found something interesting, yet very disturbing by Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau.

Experts see rebounding economy shedding jobs

Forget a jobless recovery. The economy may be entering a recovery with job losses.
Third-quarter estimates this week are expected to show that the economy grew for the first time since the quarter ending in June 2008. Despite the estimated 3 percent expansion and a stock market that has been on a tear since March, hundreds of thousands of people are still being laid off each month.

Eight million jobs have been lost nationwide since the recession began two years ago, and by some measures workers face the worst job market since the Depression. The average laid-off worker has been without a job for 61/2 months, a post-World War II record. Many of those workers will never recover financially.

California's hole, deepened by a state budget mess and volatile tax system, is far worse: Unemployment is at 12.2 percent, third highest in the nation; and adding discouraged and part-time workers puts it over 20 percent.

"It's not even a jobless recovery; it's a recovery with more job losses," said UCLA economist Lee Ohanian. "The idea of having essentially no net job creation after a remarkably severe recession is a real pathology for the U.S. economy."

What is the job stimulus money doing in your neighborhood? Really, that bad?

Russ Steele

After seven months of stimulus 49 of 50 States have lost jobs according to a Republican Ways and Means news release. America is Now Over 6 Million Jobs Shy of Administration's Projections.

The White House's February 2009 projection of the number of California jobs that would be created by the 2009 stimulus law through the end of 2010 was 396,000. The actual change in state payroll employment through September 2009 was a negative 336,400.  The difference between the promised 396,000 new jobs and the actual loss of 336,400 jobs has created a deficit of 732,400 jobs since the stimulus was enacted.

Now economist and administration policy makers are suggesting that the current joblessness is the new normal. According to an AP story, Even with an economic revival, many U.S. jobs lost during the recession may be gone forever and a weak employment market could linger for years. So, in reality we have just been stuffing government money down a rat hole, that has destroyed rather than created jobs. 

Let's be real clear, taking money from some tax payers and giving it to other tax payers does not produce wealth, or create new jobs, it only puts us all at risk of having to accept the "new normal" of widespread job loss and growing poverty.   

Check out how many jobs were lost in favorite state here.