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Posted: 10/29/2014 08:50:54 PM PDT
Given
that the November election is Tuesday, the Solano Economic Development
Corporation isn't taking sides, but wants to stay informed.
Sacramento
Bee Political Columnist Dan Walters shared with those gathered for the monthly
Solano EDC breakfast Wednesday morning what voters should expect to see when
polls close next week.
Walters
characterized this election as "bizarre" and "weird" given
that the most interesting race is for state schools superintendent, otherwise,
he said, it will be another sweep by the Democrats.
He also
explained that there are enough seats in play where the Democrats could lose
the super majority, but other than "bragging rights," Walters said it
won't make that big of a difference.
He added
that voter turnout will be low with a best case scenario of 40 percent or
slightly higher of registered voters actually casting their votes.
"There
is not much contest for governor, there are no barn burning ballot measures and
no senate race," Walters said. He explained that the Republicans do have a
better chance of getting a seat in low voter turnout elections because that's
when the Democratic vote turnout drops.
"The
real game in this election is the senate contest, which California has no part
of," he said. "California is on the sidelines of the main game of
politics."
Walters also
shared his thoughts on California's economy.
"The
good news is we're still coming out of a recession," he said. "Which
is better than still being in the recession."
However,
while it looks like the state has regained the jobs it lost during the
recession, Walters said to look more closely at those numbers.
"The
reality is that California's population has grown," he said. "It's
growing slowly."
California,
he said, continues to lose people to other states and its unemployment rate is
still high.
"We
haven't really gained ground," he said. "Our unemployment rate is
still one of the highest in the country."
Also, he
said that just because it shows the state has gained jobs "it does not
mean those are the jobs we need or want for economic recovery."
He said
poverty rate, when factoring in cost of living, means California's rate is at
23.8 percent.
"There
is a higher cost of living in California," Walters said. "In relation
to income, it's by far the highest rate."
He added
that the Bay Area counties have the highest poverty rates in the state.
"The
incomes don't keep up with the cost of living," he said.
Walters also
noted that the cycle of one boom and one bust every decade has "corrosive
effects" on the economy.
"It's
difficult to encourage investment when they're wondering when the next bust
will happen," he said and added that California has a difficult investment
climate.
Walters said
that while state elected officials say they're going to change the dense regulatory
investment climate, they have yet to do anything about it.
"It's
hard to do business in California," he said.
Another hit
to the business climate in the state is its infrastructure, according to
Walters.
"We
have crappy highways in California," he said. "Your car tells you
when you've hit the state line. ... It's simply falling apart because we've
neglected it."
He added
that the states in the South that some would consider "backward" have
better roads.
Walters did say that California does have some positives
including its entrepreneurial spirt, access to the coast and its University of
California system. However, he said, the state can't continue to rely on those
aspects without making some changes.
