Abandoned farms, Third World living conditions, pervasive public assistance -- welcome to the once-thriving Central Valley.
The last three weeks I have traveled about, taking the pulse of the more forgotten areas of central California. I wanted to witness, even if superficially, what is happening to a state that has the highest sales and income taxes, the most lavish entitlements, the near-worst public schools (based on federal test scores), and the largest number of illegal aliens in the nation, along with an overregulated private sector, a stagnant and shrinking manufacturing base, and an elite environmental ethos that restricts commerce and productivity without curbing consumption.
Here are some general observations about what I saw (other than that the rural roads of California are fast turning into rubble, poorly maintained and reverting to what I remember seeing long ago in the rural South). First, remember that these areas are the ground zero, so to speak, of 20 years of illegal immigration. There has been a general depression in farming — to such an extent that the 20- to-100-acre tree and vine farmer, the erstwhile backbone of the old rural California, for all practical purposes has ceased to exist.
On the western side of the Central Valley, the effects of arbitrary cutoffs in federal irrigation water have idled tens of thousands of acres of prime agricultural land, leaving thousands unemployed. Manufacturing plants in the towns in these areas — which used to make harvesters, hydraulic lifts, trailers, food-processing equipment — have largely shut down; their production has been shipped off overseas or south of the border. Agriculture itself — from almonds to raisins — has increasingly become corporatized and mechanized, cutting by half the number of farm workers needed. So unemployment runs somewhere between 15 and 20 percent. Many of the rural trailer-house compounds I saw appear to the naked eye no different from what I have seen in the Third World.
The fact that California can still even function is a testament to how far the federal government can go into debt. And they know it.
ReplyDeleteWe are screwed
I think the author got it completely correct. California lawmakers do not care how many illegals come here, they don't care how much they hurt the state's economy, they will not arrest, deport or detain or punish the illegals, with the exception of DUI or murder. The California lawmakers will not get in the way of the illegals and their quest to make this once great state, just another barrio of Mexico.
ReplyDeleteAttention Gov. Brown. I will agree to any and all tax increases you want to fix California's budget and I ask but one thing in return, remove from California every "undocumented immigrant" and their anchor babies. Next seal the border with Mexico, don't wait for Obozo to do it, or it will never happen. Once you do this, you'll find the tax increases will not be needed.
This is what it looks like; 40 years of leftist
ReplyDeleteliberal agenda & the smart ones had enough and started leaving 10 years ago & now the ones left shit on our flag, hoist mexicos high while swiping their free access cards that Fienstein and company gave them for life.
Coming next to a state near you; because as we can all see
It's working here !
Gov. Brown, your State of the State speech is going down in 10 min. All I want to here you say is the state is all phucked up because the illegals you will not deport are the cause for 1/5 of our budget crisis.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to hear about how we simply can't deport these people,
Yes we Can!
Si se Puede!
Excellent and accurate assessment of CA.
ReplyDelete3:55 agree's to pay any and all tax increases...they were joking right?
ReplyDeleteanyway in the long run having many unemployed and idle it could work to drive down wages coupled with cuts in assistance and coupled with some law to allow states to file bankruptcy and break union contracts they've a ready and waiting workforce
Populist Economics in america still
ReplyDelete= KKKracism?
'I will agree to any and all tax increases you want to fix California's budget and I ask but one thing in return, remove from California every "undocumented immigrant" and their anchor babies. Next seal the border with Mexico, don't wait for Obozo to do it, or it will never happen. Once you do this, you'll find the tax increases will not be needed.
So Let the Elite of the hook with bailouts and blame brown people for our problems .
lETS HAVE A POGROM FOR THE BENIFIT OF WHITE AMERICANS SETTLER IMMIGRANTS TOO!
The only "real"americans.
This is surely simple "economics"not racism!
America was settled by immigrants and slaves, eventually all granted theoretical equal rights under labor laws and citizenship with pension and other rights.
ReplyDeleteAs American wages got to high for profitability , a second class of immigrants and even illegals was created under both republican and democrats presidents as a cheaper competitive source of labor. Keeping them illegal was a method of denying them or delaying them citizenship rights as workers contributing to America.
The official Americans went along with that when times were good,even allowing their country to be de-industrialised and their old jobs exported by 'free trade"
many “official” Americans became trailer trash dependents on government handouts and family support tax subsidies , or unionists enjoying and enforcing privileges ‘union rates” and left the dirty, hard productive work of building the American economy to the cheaper labor illegals or used them as non unionized cheap labour providers of services to the official Americans.
The officials became a bribed credit dependent labor aristocracy.
All this was possible under the dollar hegemony as long as cheap credit was made available .
Fearing that their government is bankrupt now with the collapse of the grat ponzi economy the ‘officials” now want to protect their own entitlements by denying the “illegal” workers any share of the food stamps or even deport them.
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ReplyDeletehttp://www.wix.com/presenting/howtosaveyourhome