Many Californians are again worse off than last year

by Brian Leubitz

In another Field Poll release (PDF), the pollsters take the temperature of the state on economic issues.  To summarize, it is bad out there.

“Pretty gloomy stuff,” said Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo. “The length of these negative reports is now becoming historic.”

Field also found that 91 percent of voters say that California’s economy is in bad shape. Forty-two percent believe that things will stay the same over the next year, while 30 percent say it will worsen and 26 percent think it will improve.(SacBee)

Half of all California voters report a decline in their economic condition from a year ago.  And that is for the fourth straight year.  Much of that has to do with the global and national economic condition, but we have been hit particularly hard.  We had huge housing bubbles in the Central Valley, where unemployment is now at staggering levels. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to control the foreclosure rates in any meaningful way.

The state government can do some things to help, but right now, we are handcuffed and making the situation worse.  We are laying off teachers and other state workers by the thousands.  All this has a major negative effect on the economy.  For every state worker you fire, there is a multiplier effect in the private sector.  All this compounds to make the situation worse.

We should be doing more, but instead, we are looking at ways to cut more jobs. It’s like 1937 all over again.