California, a neo-feudal society

[nslander]

Originally Posted by happycrow

It won't do a thing to my rep score to say it here, but Bay Area Hillbilly is dead on the money about Kotkin.

But when people says that this is happening to the entire US, that's not really true. Yes, the middle class is eroding, thanks to Nixon and the petrodollar among a number of other factors, but if you were to say, elsewhere in the US, "it is economically irrational for a middle-class person to try to raise a family in this region," they'd laugh at you. Posh neighborhood, rich section of town, sure. An entire region? You'd be drowned in naysayers.

Everybody understands that implicitly about coastal California. I couldn't make it on a middle-class salary (heck in SF, I couldn't afford a *room* on a middle-class salary), and I'm a skinflint. My family out there, every one an SF native, couldn't, and they're barely hanging onto the edge of the bay area, living in Livermore.

But too many choose to ignore the state’s basic desirability most directly contributes to that pressure, and instead blame politics or demographics. Even land in the humble 909 is inflated by external investment:

In a sharp irony, many would-be homeowners in hard-hit markets can't compete with a flood of all-cash offers from investors, some backed by Wall Street war chests.
Inland Empire housing is more affordable but still out of reach - Los Angeles Times

And that appeal has a singularly global reach:

Chinese buyers accounted for 18% of the $68.2 billion that foreigners spent on homes during the 12 months ended March 31, according to the National Association of Realtors.
At a median price of $425,000, the Chinese are also buying more expensive homes than other foreign buyers, who spent a median of nearly $276,000 on U.S. homes. And nearly 70% of those pricey Chinese deals were made in all cash.

Nowhere is the influx of Chinese homebuyers felt more strongly than in California, where more than half of the homes sold to foreign buyers went to Chinese nationals.

The data shows that half of Chinese real estate purchases were targeted in California.
CNNMoney - Business, financial and personal finance news...

Buildable greenfields here are also relatively limited. Comparisons to other states break down quickly.