Im heading to Sacramento today to talk with Governor Jerry Brown and a majority of state assembly about California’s raging inequality. If the State were a separate economy it would be the 7th largest in the world but also one of the most unequal. Along with its Google, FaceBook, Apple, venture capital, and Hollywood zillionaires, a quarter of its citizens live in poverty. A majority of its rich as well as its poor are immigrants or the children of immigrants; a majority of its newborns are minorities. Its taxes are among the highest in America but its public services have been deteriorating for years. It once had the best public schools in America but is now ranked 49th (thank you, Mississippi). It spends more incarcerating prisoners than educating college students. And it goes from boom to bust and back again in no time: A few years ago it was nearly bankrupt but its state coffers are now overflowing. In other words, California is a microcosm of America, and of what America is becoming. And I’ve been asked to advise on what it should do and how it should use its new budget surpluses. If you were me, what would you tell the Governor and the state representatives?
Posted on: Tue, 04 Feb 2014 16:32:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015