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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:

SEC equates California IOUs to munis

California Governor Schwarzenegger

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:

Banks accept California IOUs for deposit

Emperor Norton, typical California nut-case

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

Construction, land costs, and pensions

American Homes: Land vs. Buildings

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.

Featured articles on inside pages

Stock buybacks

WSJ exposes the 9/11 caper

In a major exposé of misused executive options, the Wall Street Journal ran a front page article, reporting that as stocks sank after the the 9/11 attacks, scores of companies rushed to issue options to top officials. Some executives reaped millions.
More ...

Securities Analysis

Mark-to-market nonsense

Banks, by their nature, are insolvent, requiring government guarantees of their liabilities to protect against bank runs. Over the last fifty years, the percentage of bank liabilities guaranteed by the government has fallen considerably, while banks, free from the shackles of the Glass-Steagall Act, have become increasingly complex.
More ...

US Politics

President Obama's Lincoln moment

In mid 2009, Barack Obama found that Lincoln's saying, "You can't fool all of the people all of the time," applied to his presidency. Profligate spending and unpopular health reform ended Obama's honeymoon. More ...

US equities

Sarbanes-Oxley and the shortage of equities

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, by discouraging companies to go public, will exacerbate the shortage of equities, with a negative effect on the US stock market, although this was not the intent of its authors. Poorly drafted, ill-conceived, and unfair this law does little to protect investors.
More ...

US Bonds

Bond demand exceeds supply for a decade

Over the decade, 1995-2004, the demand for US bonds of all types has surpassed new bond issues in eight of the last ten years. This is the reason that bond prices have held firm, even in 2003, when net new issues reached almost $1.8 trillion. More ...

World Economy

Working off the US trade deficit

Foreigners hold $16.8 trillion in US financial assets as a result of selling more goods to Americans than they buy from them. Since the 'deficit' is in dollars, the US has no problem in 'paying it off'. More ...

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2010-10-29 16:02