Russ Steele
As California's job less rate continues to climb to 11.9 percent in July one has to wonder when will the 8th largest global economy start to recover. Mark Steyn writing in the Orange County Register points out that "in Brazil, India, China, Japan and much of Continental Europe the recession has ended." Is California being held down by the excessive stimulus spending by Washington or have we regulated our selves our of the global economy. Mark Steyn:
In the second quarter this year, both the French and German economies grew by 0.3 percent, while the U.S. economy shrank by 1 percent. How can that be? Unlike America, France and Germany had no government stimulus worth speaking of, the Germans declining to go the Obama route on the quaint grounds that they couldn't afford it. They did not invest in the critical signage-in-front-of-holes-in-the-road sector. And yet their recession has gone away. Of the world's biggest economies, only the U.S., Britain and Italy are still contracting. All three are big stimulators, though Gordon Brown and Silvio Berlusconi can't compete with Obama's $800 billion porkapalooza. The president has borrowed more money to spend to less effect than anybody on the planet.
So, how much of that stimulus is reaching California? George Rebane has been tracking Nevada County Stimulus results. If Nevada County is representative of other California counties, California may not be getting much of the stimulus money. We are seeing the economic results of Federal borrowing, but none of the spending benefits? Or, are there other reasons for our slow recovery? Over regulation?
