Commentary
California is a state of contradictions. Silicon Valley-San Francisco is the epicenter of global digital production and wealth. Yet the streets of San Francisco are cluttered with the homeless and their ordure and discarded needles. The middle class long has departed the Bay Area, or been reduced from that status to lower-class existence just by the vastly rising cost of living. As with the rest of the state, when the cost of living is taken into account, the poverty level is the highest in the nation.
The reasons and data are provided by the 15th edition of “Rich States, Poor States,” a report on all 50 of America’s states by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a research think tank that helps state legislators. From its beginnings more than a decade ago, I’ve used this report as a useful barometer of what’s going on.
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