Why California is unsustainable

In Forbes, Thomas Del Beccaro writes about four reasons California is unsustainable as currently governed. 1. Infrastructure deficit

the Bay Area Council Economic Institute “pegs the cost of California’s unfunded infrastructure needs at up to $737 billion and possibly as much as $765 billion.”

2. Government debt

According to a January 2017 study, “California state and local governments owe $1.3 trillion as of June 30, 2015.”

3. California’s Taxes and Regulations.

When you consider the California legal system and its regulatory system, inclusive of the world’s most comprehensive global warming law, California is likely the most regulated state in the Country, if not the World.

California also is among the highest taxed states in the nation. California has the highest income tax rates. The top rate is 13.3%. The next closest top tax rate is in Oregon at 9.9%. However, Oregon does not have a sales tax. California has the 10th highest sales tax.

What is remarkable about the California income tax isn’t just that it has the highest rate, it is how little income it takes, just above $52,000, to qualify for California rate of 9.3%. Given the high cost of living in California, that means many Californians are subject to that rate.

...Also, California’s middle class has been hollowed. A recent CNBC headline read: "Californians fed up with housing costs and taxes are fleeing state in big numbers." Where are they going? Many have left for low tax states offering more jobs than California.

They have been replaced by those taking advantage of California’s magnet government policies, which increase California’s long-term spending needs. For those that remain, according to Smartasset.com "California has the highest debt-to-income ratio in the country.”

Little wonder, the demographer Joel Kotkin concluded that “the state is run for the very rich, the very poor, and the public employees.” It is also how California found itself with the worst poverty problem and why “California ranks dead last among U.S. states in quality of life, according to a study by U.S. News.”

4. The California governments: This is actually the number one reason for California's unsustainability!
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