California Population Issues
California’s geographical splendor has contributed to the state’s popularity since 1850. Yet the golden state finds itself combating the same issues for many years. California, with the largest population in the U.S., has an economy that produces $1.8 trillion in Gross Domestic Products ever year. Despite being the desired location for business’s, Californias rate of unemployment and tax rates are the highest in the nation. Over the years the rich have become richer and the poor have become poorer. “Since 1995 , incomes for the poorest 10% of California families have dropped 20%. In contrast, incomes for the wealthiest 10% of California families have increased 605% over the past thirty years” (Scarpelli, 2015). “California is a majority/minority state, meaning that non-white residents outnumber white residents in the state” (Scarpelli, 2015). Dwinddling pensions, climbing personal tax rates and
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Californias high cost of living are all contributing factors to the “white flight” (Scarpelli, 2015) fron the state. The ethnic diversity of the state has a huge impact its political demographics. While Asian and Latino populations tend to be Democrats, the voter registration of the white population is split between non-partisan, Republican and Democrat. The result is in the presidential election results with California voting Democratic since 1992. The California lifestyle demands that Californians own a vehicle.
The issue is that the development of highways has yet to catch up with the demand of the growing population in California. Carpool lanes are useless to a state that has a high number of workers that commute to work alone. Proposition 1A, which was passed by voters in 2008, was to help ease conjecxtion in the state by developing a high speed rail system. It took 5 years for the first phase to begin, the population has since incresed dranatically since. Education is also on the table in debates in California, most likely because the largest part of the budget is used for education in the state. Propositions that we vote on always come at a cost. The passing of Proposition 13 in 1978 cut taxes for property owners drastically, but at the costs of education. Before the prop was passed, the state of California was in the top states in regards to funding education. After prop 13 passed, the state was near the bottom of the ranking. In 2001, former President George Bush signed an the “No Child
Left
Behind”. This placed demands on schools to produce students high in English and math. This is what developed our school curriculums forcing teachers to stay within the guidelines to produce the learners that this act requires. Higher education is also a victim of voters lack of researching before voting. The cost to enroll per unit in the community collelge disrict is $36. This adds up to $108 per class with most students enroling in 3 -4 classes per semester. The California State University program has been under scrutiny as well for passing the financial issues to the students while continuing to give themselves raises.
Works Cited
Scarpelli, C. (2015). California State & Local Government. New York: McGraw Hill.
Californias high cost of living are all contributing factors to the “white flight” (Scarpelli, 2015) fron the state. The ethnic diversity of the state has a huge impact its political demographics. While Asian and Latino populations tend to be Democrats, the voter registration of the white population is split between non-partisan, Republican and Democrat. The result is in the presidential election results with California voting Democratic since 1992. The California lifestyle demands that Californians own a vehicle.
The issue is that the development of highways has yet to catch up with the demand of the growing population in California. Carpool lanes are useless to a state that has a high number of workers that commute to work alone. Proposition 1A, which was passed by voters in 2008, was to help ease conjecxtion in the state by developing a high speed rail system. It took 5 years for the first phase to begin, the population has since incresed dranatically since. Education is also on the table in debates in California, most likely because the largest part of the budget is used for education in the state. Propositions that we vote on always come at a cost. The passing of Proposition 13 in 1978 cut taxes for property owners drastically, but at the costs of education. Before the prop was passed, the state of California was in the top states in regards to funding education. After prop 13 passed, the state was near the bottom of the ranking. In 2001, former President George Bush signed an the “No Child
Left
Behind”. This placed demands on schools to produce students high in English and math. This is what developed our school curriculums forcing teachers to stay within the guidelines to produce the learners that this act requires. Higher education is also a victim of voters lack of researching before voting. The cost to enroll per unit in the community collelge disrict is $36. This adds up to $108 per class with most students enroling in 3 -4 classes per semester. The California State University program has been under scrutiny as well for passing the financial issues to the students while continuing to give themselves raises.
Works Cited
Scarpelli, C. (2015). California State & Local Government. New York: McGraw Hill.