Ask HN: Why is Silicon Valley almost broke? No, not the companies in Silicon Valley but the region itself. I'm reading articles about how CalTrain almost ran out of money, how VTA is underfunded, and articles upon articles about how the region can't build any new public projects anymore. What's going on over there? |
[1] http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/investing/2012/corporate-taxe... [2]http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-...
Here's a fairly politically-leaning article about how they "lost" almost $1b in tax revenue (projected):
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/dec...
“November’s disappointing revenues stand in stark contrast to recent news that California is leading the nation in job growth, has significantly improved its cash liquidity to pay bills, and even long-distressed home values are starting to inch upward,” Mr. Chiang said in a statement. “This serves as a sobering reminder that, while the economy is expanding, it is doing so at a slow and uneven pace that will require the state to exercise care and discipline in how its fiscal affairs are managed in the coming year.”
One thing most people don't factor in is that everything is more expensive here and that to attract workers to skilled but not professional jobs the salaries are higher than elsewhere. My wife is a staffer (not a lawyer or in a position requiring certification) at a well-known law firm and I'd bet her salary is 40-60% higher than if the office were in, say, Portland or Austin.
And real estate, to put supporting buildings like train stations and repair yards, is similarly more expensive.
We do have some real doozies planning projects. For giggles look at the so-called high speed rail project being 'built' to link San Diego to San Francisco, with a price tag that has gone from $30 billion to north of $100 BILLION before a shovel's even gone in the ground. But only if you have an hour or so to roll around on the floor laughing.
On the plus side, Jerry Brown seems to have actually done some practical good since coming back into the governor's office. He's been very pragmatic and considering how much he's had to struggle against legislators, bureaucrats, unions and other entrenched interests, I think Brown has been the most effective governor CA's had since I got here in '96.