California

California to Tax Texting from Your Phone | Armstrong Economics

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

I have constantly warned after dealing with governments first hand for over 30 years, they NEVER see the problem as being them – it is always we the people. Their fiscal mismanagement is beyond repair and we should not expect anything other than death and taxes. You work your entire life and then want to retire and they still want taxes on your retirement funds. Then you die and they rush in to grab what is left. Even the Mafia had more respect for the people than those in government. I drew this cartoon years ago and it remains valid to this day. The latest proposal in California as the state spirals toward insolvency in the year ahead is to constantly come up with new things to tax. They are already at the highest personal income tax rate in the country – 13.5%. They wanted to tax space shots per mile they traveled into the sky. What’s next? Imposing a tax per child you give birth to? How about taxing clean air? The government has become an organized crime. If you do not pay, they confiscate everything you have and will often throw you in prison. Not even the Mafia will treat you that ruthlessly. This latest scheme is a never-ending plot to tax anything and everything they can possibly think of. California is doomed. They never consider really looking at the trend in motion and where does this all lead. All they consider is they are broke right now so just raise taxes to get by for another quarter.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/taxes/california-to-tax-texting-from-your-phone/

California Homeless Population Surges Nearly 14% in Single Year

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

One LA official said the issue is not that the city cannot help those who are homeless find shelters; it is that the number of homeless keeps growing because of housing costs.
— Read on www.westernjournal.com/california-homeless-population-surges-nearly-14-single-year/

A sad statistic

California Doubles Down Yet Again on Privileges For Illegal Aliens | Federation for American Immigration Reform

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

In the final days of its regular session, California’s state legislature passed two more bills that highlight the Golden State’s ever-expanding commitment to elevating the rights of illegal aliens.
— Read on fairus.org/legislation/state-local-legislation/california-doubles-down-yet-again-privileges-illegal-aliens

Easy to be generous with other peoples’ money

Silicon Valley Experiencing Net Migrations Outward | Armstrong Economics

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I believe the next migration out of California is now also impacting Silicon Valley. Do you see elements of this moving to Austin Texas as the rumors are here in California? HY ANSWER: Yes, the rumors are correct. Silicon Vally if you ranked it as its own nation, it would be in the top 20 in the world even exceeding Switzerland and Saudi Arabia. Most people have no clue the economic significance of Silicon Valley. The real crisis for California is that the net migration has also manifested in Silicon Valley. There were more people leaving Silicon Valley and moving out of state than there were people arriving. In fact, polls taken in the region say that 46% of the people intend to leave which is up from 34% back in 2016. There are now more start-ups beginning to form outside of Silicon Valley. The costs of just setting things up are estimated to be between 4 to 5 times that of places like Austin Texas. The taxes are insane and the State has relied upon the high taxation from this area to support its grand plans elsewhere. It is just too expensive for innovation to take place in this area anymore.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/taxes/silicon-valley-experiencing-net-migrations-outward/

Vote with your feet

People Living in their Cars in California? | Armstrong Economics

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

A very interesting issue has emerged in California. The price of real estate rose so high that the median price for a home reached $600,000 and the price was just too high. Consequently, people began to take up residence sleeping in their cars. A recent article looked at the issue and found that 15,000 people live in cars, vans, and RVs in Los Angeles alone. They were citing the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. This was just LA alone. Real Estate is starting to crash in California because (1) it exceeded the cost of the average person, and (2) taxes are rising and that further reduces the net disposable income. It is not just the price of the house, as taxes rise they reduce the take-home pay and thus the price of a house after taxes rises even faster. These two trends are colliding and this is why California real estate has begun to decline.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/real-estate/people-living-in-their-cars-in-california/

The downside of California

California Real Estate Peaks and Begin a Crash | Armstrong Economics

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

California has joined the states with not just the highest taxes in America, but it has become one of those states that people are just leaving resulting i9n a net outward-migration. There is a logical consequence when a state becomes a place people are trying to flee from – real estate MUST decline in value. Already, sales of both new and existing houses and condominiums in Southern California has declined 11.8% year over year. Prices rallied and reached a record high in 2018. The median price paid for all Southern California homes that were sold in June 2018 was a record high reaching $536,250, according to CoreLogic. This was reported as a 7.3% increase compared to June of 2017. When you see such short-term surges in a market, that is often the sign of how every market peaks. Real estate is no exception. Many have touted for years that California property leads the nation. Therefore, whatever trend appears they will spread to the rest of the nation. While we do not necessarily agree with that statement, nonetheless, real estate will be on the decline in most states where taxes are rising. Property is still going to rise in the 7 states without income tax. For those who are unfamiliar with Socrates, we have created indexes for real estate on a worldwide basis. Here is the page you can view what is available. California may seem to be a leading indicator, but this appears to be with respect to direction only. While Southern California reached record highs in property values in 2018, this appears NOT to be a leading factor, but a lagging one. Our index for the nation as a whole with a limited focus to Residential peaked in August 2016. We have NOT yet elected a Monthly Bearish Reversal. Trump has clearly made a major economic difference. Capital has been returning home and this has helped to create jobs and soften the economic decline in the USA compared to Europe and Asia. This will also have a fundamental backdrop to the dollar.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/markets-by-sector/real_estate/california-real-estate-peaks-and-begin-a-crash/