Economists Forecast Four Years Before Sacramento Recovers (San Jose, San Francisco: middle-class, how much)

[NewToCA]

On the other hand, when you have very slow development taking place, it should increase the commercial interest in rehabbing or upgrading existing facilities.

That can be very beneficial over the long term, too.

[ElectroPlumber]

There are other factors which are influencing the labor market, including the "temping" of the workforce. This may result in an even slower recovery in employment with a more or less permanent high unemployment rate which is not being taken into account by mainstream economists.

See: Future of America’s workforce: permatemps - Careers- msnbc.com

[NoUserNamesLeft]

Living and working in California, especially Sacramento, often feels like being on a sinking ship. It is demoralizing to work in a place with so many empty stores and houses, a bankrupt government, and all of the people with state and county jobs, in real estate, and in construction who are out of work (with their jobs unlikely to return, if ever, for five to ten years). It makes me think about moving to Texas.

[KC6ZLV]

Well, if you feel the need, move to Texas and grab one of those $24 hr jobs that left California for Texas, where they are now paying $13 hr.

[edwardius]

Originally Posted by NoUserNamesLeft

Living and working in California, especially Sacramento, often feels like being on a sinking ship. It is demoralizing to work in a place with so many empty stores and houses, a bankrupt government, and all of the people with state and county jobs, in real estate, and in construction who are out of work (with their jobs unlikely to return, if ever, for five to ten years). It makes me think about moving to Texas.

It sounds like you are ready for a change.

Texas might be a good choice, but I would research some of the other cities in the Southwest as well. I thought Santa Fe, New Mexico is really pretty. Its high desert (around 7000 ft). It doesn't rain much but the high elevation means that the summers are surprisingly temperate.

If you were looking for a chance of scenery, I think you could do a lot worse.

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by NoUserNamesLeft

Living and working in California, especially Sacramento, often feels like being on a sinking ship. It is demoralizing to work in a place with so many empty stores and houses, a bankrupt government, and all of the people with state and county jobs, in real estate, and in construction who are out of work (with their jobs unlikely to return, if ever, for five to ten years). It makes me think about moving to Texas.

Depending upon family situations or limitations, change can be beneficial. If you can leave Sacramento, it might be a good idea to do so. When you feel this strongly negative about an area, staying likely won't change your point of view.

[KC6ZLV]

People throughout the country feel like they are living and working on a sinking ship.

I think the thing a lot of people in this thread don't realize is that we have been in the process of some very big core changes in our economy for the last 20 years. The rate of acceleration started increasing around 2000 when technology allowed the outsourcing of more than just the manufacturing jobs in previous years. Labor in this country is currently going through a massive restructuring and few people are willing to acknowledge it, or maybe they just aren't smart enough.

Right now the people in Texas are very smug about it, but give it a few years and they'll find out they were just another cheaper place to do business and when a cheaper place comes along there will be a lot of vacant call centers in Texas like there are here in Sacramento. The people in the Bay Area who thing they have something over the rest of California will feel it too. Companies are going to keep a small office to maintain an address (fake presence) to look pretty and meet with other local business. That trend is already on its way.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by KC6ZLV

I think the thing a lot of people in this thread don't realize is that we have been in the process of some very big core changes in our economy for the last 20 years. The rate of acceleration started increasing around 2000 when technology allowed the outsourcing of more than just the manufacturing jobs in previous years. Labor in this country is currently going through a massive restructuring and few people are willing to acknowledge it, or maybe they just aren't smart enough.

Thomas Friedman started saying back in 2005 when "The World is Flat" came out: "Bill Gates has a nice line: He says, 20 years ago, would you rather have been a B-student in Poughkeepsie or a genius in Shanghai? Twenty years ago you'd rather be a B-student in Poughkeepsie. Today? Not even close. You'd much prefer to be the genius in Shanghai because you can now export your talents anywhere in the world.""

In other words the American pay and standard of living was such that anywhere in the US used to be better for success than being elsewhere in the world.

But the competition has expanded worldwide and changed. Those in the US not willing to acknowledge the changes are going to wake up very surprised in the near future.

[wburg]

What Gates really meant is would an employer rather hire the genius in Shanghai or the B-student in Poughkeepsie--and they would rather hire the genius in Shanghai because he will work for less money. But the guys doing the hiring are the guys who were B students 20 years ago...

[KC6ZLV]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

But the competition has expanded worldwide and changed. Those in the US not willing to acknowledge the changes are going to wake up very surprised in the near future.

Even if they acknowledge the changes they are going to be very surprised.

I'm out of the IT business, probably for good, and not entirely by choice. I just can't compete with people who have living costs that are a fraction of what I could find in the worst neighborhoods. I'm currently trying to brainstorm and figure out what will be marketable in the future without having to resort to grunt labor in the medical field, and I don't think it will be long before the third world is given visas to do that work. They are already firing people in education in favor of foreigners who will do it for less.

I'm not quite sure what exactly will be the big skill, but I have a strong feeling it is going to require select foreign languages, and although Spanish will be beneficial, I don't think that is going to be one of the languages in demand for higher-paying jobs, other than an import broker when China quits giving us credit to buy their junk and companies will have to have to look to Mexico to manufacture junk.

I have some ideas in my mind as to the direction to go. I just need to figure out what major or discipline will best apply to it.