Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Let's throw some facts on their lame talking points shall we? Here is a list of the average tax rate for all 50 states plus DC, you'll notice that California is #20 on the list with an average tax rate of 10.3% which is very close to the nation wide average of 10.1%. Gee, it looks like yet another right wing myth has been exposed.
It would be great if the US Census asked all people who moved since 2000 (the last census), to another state, what was the primary reason why they left their former state.
California is expensive and, like the rest of the US, despite our best efforts the middle class is slowly disappearing. Either you're a highly educated professional who makes six figures (or near to it) or you work in a low paying job like retail or the restaurant industry. That's not true in all places but it is becoming more and more true as the well paying blue collar manufacturing jobs disappear due to free trade. I went and got a master's degree in a hard science so I'm doing well but people who don't have that level of education do struggle.
That said huge numbers of immigrants (mostly from Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia) regularly arrive in California so the over all population keeps going up. There has been a notable excedus of blue collar workers though who realize they can make the same wages in other states but pay a lot less for housing. The good news for the local economy is that lots more people in high paying jobs keep moving here. Lots of lawyers, doctors, scientists, and engineers.
Yes, this does create a bifurcated society of haves and have nots but that's more of an American condition then a California condition. Our current policies promote that and work against your average blue collar person. That said the reason things like land cost so much in California is because so many people want to live here. There is only so much coastal property to go around but there are hordes of people who want to live in the California sunshine. It's a classic supply and demand situation where the well off end up with the scarce resources.
That's why they only want to talk about income taxes and ignore other taxes like property taxes, sales taxes, mandatory service fees, etc...
Hell, in San Diego we don't even pay for trash to be hauled away but in other places that can add up to hundreds of dollars per year. It's all about the total picture; which is what the right wingers never want to look at.
"we don't even pay for trash to be hauled away"
Sure you do.....it's probably hidden in something like your water bill.
Where I live in Texas I pay about $14.00 a month for trash pick up by the city and that's 8 times a month (twice a week) Not hundreds of dollars a year.
The status Quo benefits the OP who wants plenty of money flowing into the Tax coffers to support his paycheck. The article is a joke; it only takes into account tax rate, not actual dollars paid by taxpayers. For example while property taxes are low as a percentage, they are high due to the value of California’s property. The only way California will be able to straighten out its finances is to reduce the cost of government. We need to lay off about 2/3rds of all government workers, and make the rest begin to earn their bloated paychecks. Perhaps then they would not have the time to come up with idiotic ideas like outlawing barbeques, and black cars.
Texas is number 43, so I can say what I want to about California...LOL
That is has vastly better services and public development then Texas? That's why we have 12 lane freeways, good mass transit, better schools, better public universities (not to mention more), and superior public infrastructure. You get what you pay for.
Taxes are part of the cost of living...Do you live in a tent on state land?
Taxes are only a small part of the cost of living. Much larger is the cost of land. In any event people here (of the wing nut persuasion) have claimed California has high taxes which is demonstrably not the case. This thread is about taxes so you fail.
Except for the snow and ice 8 months out of the year? Face it, people have voted with their feet and decided Alaska isn't for them. They have decided California is for them though which is why the price of land gets bidded up so high.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
