Russ Steele
Nine of the top 10 metro jobless rates in the nation are California, and seven are in California’s Central Valley:
- El Centro, CA – 29.3% (east of San Diego near border with Mexico)
- Yuma, AZ – 26.7%
- Yuba City, CA – 17.8%
- Merced, CA – 16.3%
- Stockton, CA – 16.3%
- Modesto, CA – 16.2%
- Visalia-Porterville, CA – 15.9%
- Fresno, CA – 15.7%
- Palm Coast, FL – 15.5%
- Hanford – Corcoran, CA – 15.0%
Ed Morrissey writing at Hot Air answers the why question:
Why has California become the epicenter of unemployment? While Michigan and Florida have a mix of problems, including (in Michigan’s case) a history of bad management decisions on labor contracts, California’s Central Valley woes are entirely a government creation. As I wrote yesterday, the decision by a federal judge to cut off water supplies to an area that literally fed the world turned the Central Valley from an agricultural export powerhouse to a center of starvation within two years. Congress has refused to act to reverse this decision, and as a result, almost a quarter of the families in the area now need government assistance to feed themselves while living on some of the most productive land in the world.
Exit Questions: Why did California's political leaders allow this to happen? How can our economy recover when the federal government is killing jobs in the Central Valley?
