[LostCat]

LostCat

By: STEVE LAWRENCE – Associated Press

SACRAMENTO — The income gap between the richest and poorest Californians is growing while the growth in middle-income jobs is slowing, according to a report released Wednesday by the California Budget Project.

The report, called A Generation of Widening Inequality, examined changes in California’s economy between 1979 and 2006.

It found that most of the state’s job growth during that period took place at the ends of the income scale. Nearly 28 percent of the new jobs went to the lowest fifth of wage earners while another 28 percent went to those in the top wage bracket.

In contrast, only 6 percent of new jobs were in the second fifth and 14 percent were in the third highest bracket.

The trend has increased in recent years, with more than two out of every three new jobs between 1999 and 2005 created at either the top or bottom of the pay scale. At the same time, the state lost jobs in the second highest wage bracket.

“A significant faction of California’s work force is falling behind,” said Jean Ross, executive director of the Sacramento-based nonpartisan group. “The rising tide has left some boats high and dry.”

Incomes of workers in the highest bracket jumped 18.4 percent between 1979 and 2006 while those in the middle saw their wages grow by only 1.3 percent. The state’s lowest-paid workers actually lost 7.2 percent in earnings when inflation was taken into account, the report said.

In 1979, the wealthiest hourly workers in California and the U.S. made 2.4 times as much as their poorest counterparts. By 2006 that gap had increased to 3.1 times in California compared to 2.7 times nationally, according to the report.

Ross said that “a lot of different factors,” including federal tax policies, a loss of manufacturing jobs and an increase of lower-paying service-sector jobs had contributed to the widening gap.

“It’s a very complex picture,” she said. “You can’t go out and say there’s one factor that’s responsible for what’s going on in the economy.”

The weak growth in middle-income jobs would make it harder for low-income workers to improve their lots, Ross said.

She said automatic increases in the minimum wage to keep up with inflation, an earned income tax credit for low-wage workers and improving the state’s schools and job training programs would help close the gap.

“The best way to attract high-wage jobs, good jobs, to California is by making sure that the education system turns out well-trained workers,” she said. “In the short term, people follow jobs. But in the long term, jobs tend to follow workers. Employers will go where they find a highly educated work force.”

She said education isn’t a sure cure. One of the “troubling trends” found by the study was that earnings of young college graduates did not keep pace with inflation between 2000 and 2006, Ross said.

Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, said the report demonstrates the need for federal tax policies that reward companies that keep jobs in the U.S.

He also said corporations should rethink their policies and shift more of their wages to lower- and middle-income workers.

“The middle class is disappearing,” he said. “We’re losing out on wages and somebody else is gaining, and that somebody else is primarily the executives and businesses. The good jobs are being sent overseas, and more and more what we’re seeing is service sector jobs, which tend to be lower-wage jobs.”

Vince Sollitto, a spokesman for the California Chamber of Commerce, said the report’s findings demonstrate the value of enterprise zone programs that give businesses tax breaks for locating in distressed areas.

He said it also “reinforces the danger of imposing unique, California-only mandates on business.”

The report did find that the wage gap between men and women in California had narrowed. The typical woman made 87 cents for every dollar made by her male counterpart in 2006, compared to 63 cents for every dollar in 1979.

[LostCat]

LostCat

And you’ve watched the wizard of ozz about 400 times too many.

[LostCat]

LostCat

And you’ve watched the wizard of ozz about 400 times too many.

[LostCat]

LostCat

And you’ve watched the wizard of ozz about 400 times too many.

[LostCat]

Well if there are enough people like this guy, the Sub Prime Loan Industry might see an increase in sales over the next month…

We all be able to identify why there was a little spike during the month of May.

[LostCat]

I go looking at new houses so I know what I want to do to the house I bought ten years ago.

[LostCat]

UCLA and the Anderson Forecast are the biggest two jokes in the country. In fact, I haven’t seen the Anderson Forecast predict the right thing yet, so why do people make a big deal out of it?

F-n UCLA.. Give me a break. What a second rate school…

[LostCat]

Bottom line is no one knows really. You’re question is the answer. There are too many factors to really determine the outcome. In some areas, the actual dollar price will decline as well as have inflation catch up with it. You’ll spend more dollars that are worth less, but easier to come by on a house that is worth less after adjusting to inflation.

So yeah, in some areas, a house that was $200k in 2000. Will sell for $400k in 2008, but will actually cost as much if not less than if the house was purchased in 2000.

Chula Vista, Poway and Downtown SD will likely get hit the hardest here in SD. Older hoods will probably hold some value in terms of the actual price (but it they will be devalued because they will not increase with inflation).

Chula Vista is over built, Downtown is way over built for the market (young single realtors), and Poway is Poway. It’s a long drive to anywhere and everywhere and there are not enough freaked out white people to move there anymore.

[LostCat]

PerryChase,

I hear you. Yeah, if he made a killing, he wouldn’t be selling his house for a loss. His wife’s spending habbits crippled him. lol the new cars, cloths, etc… Maybe it just felt that way because he was buy rounds of drinks for people he didn’t know hotels in Vegas. It ran dry.

[LostCat]

You read in the OC Register that second generation Asians have to take care of their parents? I am sure there is some truth to this because it is cultural. It works like that. Many American, no matter what race you are will probably be in the same boat if our SS Tax doesn’t pan out like it should over the next 20 years. But wait, is this the same OC Register that tells us time and time again that there is not going to be a housing market crash, one that reports on Anna Nicole Smith’s kid and who the daddy is instead reporting what is really going on in the middle east. What the heck is all this generalization going on. There are just as many foreigners buying houses, condos, condo conversions (including Asians) in south east San Diego as there are in Carmel Valley. There are just as many poor, stupid, misdirected asian, blacks, mexians, indians as there are poor, stupid, misdirected whites. Ethnically, San Diego is very diverse and not all Chinese are well off and well educated. Asia is a large place and china is very populated. There are many different types of Asians. Crap, Cambodia is one of, if not the, poorest country in the world. They are about as Asian as it gets. They can’t do anything right over there, especially since the 1960’s after Pol Pot killed everyone that knew how to do anything. Plus all the ex Khmer Rouge own all the major utilities and income companies… Northern China is horrible too (we here in America don’t hear much or don’t know that part too well, just the port cities). I am pretty sure the Chinese on the net right now, buying homes in Carmel Valley, going to UCSD aren’t the same Chinese that are coming to the USA through the Mexican border wrapped under the engine block of a Chevy suburban. These guys (which make up a larger percent of the Chinese population), aren’t living in Carmel Valley and they are not here to dispute the other oppressive Chinese that think their culture is so sustainable. Heck if America had a population of 1.5 billion, we could put 90% of the population to work in a sweetshop while 10% of the population lived like kings. The poor would never have a voice and everywhere the rich American went, they’d tell the rest of the world that they have it good and that education and saving money is priority number one for their culture. If you want to look at some real facts about a culture that knows how to save and also educate themselves, England is number one in all of the above. Their population is just 1/20 the size so we don’t feel the impact as greatly.

[LostCat]

Bob2007,

I am happy for my friend because he married a freak and he is happy. He didn’;t have any kids and married too you (19 years old), now 24. So for him, the timing is great. Lycus 103.7

[LostCat]

Brutal hawk….

[LostCat]

The problem is that savvy proffessionals don’t have time to understand the market. Just like they don’t understand or have time to vote on the right people in local offices or understand the impacts of sprawl like that of Del Sur on our quality of life.

[LostCat]

This is too great…The ending is the best…

[LostCat]

Yeah, once again, the UT doesn’t make sense.

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