-especially conservatives have highlighted all the shortcomings of California over the last couple of years, and especially the last 12 months. Now I have questioned the whole “exodus” narrative for a while just based on CA housing price data (one would assume that all the empty houses left behind would have a negative impact on housing), but even beyond housing things look pretty good in CA: California Defies Doom With No. 1 U.S. Economy
… By adding 1.3 million people to its non-farm payrolls since April last year – equal to the entire workforce of Nevada – California easily surpassed also-rans Texas and New York. At the same time, California household income increased $164 billion, almost as much as Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania combined, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. No wonder California’s operating budget surplus, fueled by its surging economy and capital gains taxes, swelled to a record $75 billion. … The state’s gross domestic product increased 21% during the past five years, dwarfing No. 2 New York (14%) and No. 3 Texas (12%), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The gains added $530 billion to the Golden State, 30% more than the increase for New York and Texas combined and equivalent to the entire economy of Sweden. Among the five largest economies, California outperforms the U.S., Japan and Germany with a growth rate exceeded only by China. … California reigns supreme with the GDP-equivalent of $40.2 billion derived from agriculture, forest and hunting in 2020. That’s greater than the output from the next five largest states – Iowa, Washington, Illinois, Texas and Nebraska.
-Good Podcast conversation on how important it is to get everyone vaccinated: As Variants Become Increasingly Prevalent, How Eschewing a Vaccine Can Put Other Lives at Risk — anyone not vaccinated is truly putting us all at risk … and with that causing future shut downs and more economic hardship.
-Coronavirus infections dropping where people are vaccinated, rising where they are not, Post analysis finds — and in addition, some data that shows that vaccines work
-Authers’ Indicators: Here’s When to Worry About Inflation — since I assume the inflation story will be with us for a while, this is a great resource to keep tabs on key indicators
-Beige Book — and in addition to those indicators, the Fed’s Beige Book is another great resource to track in order to understand the economy
