Subject:
California California (pronounced /kæl??f?rnj?/) is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil. It is located on the West Coast of the United States, and is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the northeast, Arizona to the southeast, the Mexican state of Baja California to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its four largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. The state is home to the nation’s second and sixth largest census statistical areas as well as eight of the nation’s fifty most populous cities. California has a varied climate and geography, and a diverse population.
California is the third-largest U.S. state by land area, after Alaska and Texas. Its geography ranges from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, to Mojave desert areas in the southeast and the Redwood–Douglas fir forests of the northwest. The center of the state is dominated by the Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. California is the most geographically diverse state in the nation, and contains the highest (Mount Whitney) and lowest (Death Valley) points in the contiguous United States. Almost 40% of California is forested, a high amount for a relatively arid state. (Wikipedia Jan 2010)
State finances:
By John Schroy, on July 11th, 2009 |

By July 2009, the State of California, one of the world’s larger economies, was unable to pay its bills, the result of profligate spending in the state legislature in Sacramento.
Governor Schwarzenegger was forced to issue State IOU’s to pay creditors.
The US SEC went along with this, declaring this fiat money to be equivalent to municipal bonds. As usual, California leads the country. In this case, the precedent is not good.
State finance:
By John Schroy, on July 6th, 2009 |

On July 2, 2009, the Federal Reserve announced that it was aware that the State of California was issuing its own currency to pay its bills.
This, of course, is consistent with the lack of fiscal discipline which is the hall mark of far left Californian politicians, of which Nancy Pelosi is a prime example.
California has experience with nut-case economics, having been the home of the famous Emperor Norton who issued his own currency to pay his bills in the mid-19th century.
Real Estate 1995-2004
By John Schroy, on February 28th, 2006 |

Over the decade 1995 – 2004, the market value of US residential real estate increased, on average, about 10% a year. The imputed value of land as a percentage of total residential property values, rose from 25% to 38%. The older the city, the greater the burden unionized public servants will be on local property values.
State and Local Government liabilities with pension funds (Q3 2005) totaled US$2.7 trillion, and this is probably understated.
Whereas citizens cannot escape federal taxes, they can run from state and local taxes by moving to lower-tax areas — ‘voting with their feet’, as it were.
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