| That's California's unemployment rate as of January, a 1.4 percentage point increase (i.e. an enormous leap) over the December numbers, and a big increase over the 6.1% rate as of January 2008.
The Employment Development Department will not release the county-based stats until next week, but based on earlier reports we can assume that the hardest-hit parts of the state are those that happen to be represented by Republicans - the Central Valley, which is suffering from a grapes of wrath kind of economic crisis as well as Sacramento, which is being hit hard by the Republican attack on government. Spending cuts have wide consequences.
This is the bitter harvest of 30 years of flawed policy. Since 1978 California has not only embraced an economy based on debt, but thanks to Prop 13's tax rules and its conservative veto, has forced the state government to rely on that debt.
That has made California more vulnerable to this crisis than almost any other state in the union, aside perhaps from Michigan (which has been in a Depression for a few years now).
Just as President Obama reminded Americans earlier this week that the current crisis was created by Republican policy, we have to remember that because of the conservative veto and a Republican governor, we too are suffering.
Something to keep in mind when Meg Whitman or Steve Poizner come calling, offering cures worse than the disease. |
