Progressive Policies and Poverty

A few observations off the top of my head:



I can absolutely believe that a four-person family living on $30K in San Jose or San Francisco will be living in poverty (and probably in their car). But it's a different story in, say, Bakersfield or Stockton. Which is not to say that $30K in Bakersfield will get you that far, but California real estate and COLA is highly variable. The article does say that it averaged it across all regions of the state, but I just don't think very many families making $30K live in the Bay Area at all. For the same reason you won't find too many families living on $30K in Manhattan.

Second, regarding income inequality specifically - because California is a warm state, and has very homeless-friendly laws, it attracts a huge number of homeless. Thus, it has some of the highest concentrations of wealth in the country, along with some of the highest concentrations of homeless. So of course there is a huge gap between the richest and the poorest.

None of this is to say that California's economy isn't fucked up. It is. But the numbers alone aren't pointing at "progressive politics" as the reason. Really, one of the things that has fucked up California's economy for the last forty years (and virtually destroyed what was once one of the best school systems in the country) is Proposition 13. Which was anything but "progressive."