CA: 31% in Poverty

An editorial in the Orange County Register reports a new study of economic conditions in California.

For an increasing number of our residents, it is a place of perpetual economic struggle. The difficulties are detailed in a new study by United Ways of California, “Struggling to Get By: The Real Cost Measure in California 2015.” The RCM is a new formula that takes into account California’s high cost of living. It found that 31 percent of Californians were living in poverty in 2012-13. That’s higher than the 23.4 percent poverty rate, the worst in the nation, found in an October 2014 study by the U.S. Census Bureau.

A big cause, obviously, is the high cost of housing. According to a March analysis by the California Legislative Analyst, “Today, an average California home costs $440,000, about two–and-a-half times the average national home price ($180,000).” Another big factor is the ongoing exodus from the state of decent-paying jobs for workers with few skills.

California isn't so golden these days, sadly. The poverty-inducing conditions are largely man-made, arising from the legislature in Sacramento and from local zoning commissions. Drought is also a factor.