50 States & DC Q2 2019 GDP and 5-Year Growth Rate

[JManc]

Are we back to comparing states to countries? No doubt CA is a economic juggernaut but it doesn't exist in a vacuum and it's largely due to it being a US state and within the largest most advanced economy in the world.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

What does California produce? Is this a joke? This may be the most ignorant post in the history of SSP. California produces more of pretty much everything that Germany may produce and them some. Its probably the most fertile land in the world with massive industries in tech, finance, trade, entertainment, manufacturing, tourism and on and on and on. LMAO

Bah, I didn't mean to be insulting. I know there are lots of positive advanced businesses doing good things in CA. That's no secret to anybody, huh. I'm even a bit astonished by your reaction.
And there are unfortunately lots of stupid things over my region too, if that's any comfort to you.

The point was we should make a difference between helpful growth, namely products and services that actually help the population grow smarter and happier in a sustainable fashion, and parasitic backward businesses somehow causing harm to society.

Also, wealth has to be shared more fairly and in a smarter way. E.g., here in France, we've tried hard to correct and reduce the phenomenon of inequity/inequality caused by the wild liberalized free market (or say we've pretended to do so), but it doesn't work efficiently enough. A lot of taxpayer money is wasted in the end over here.
The Scandinavians implemented more effective policies in that matter. Their systems are widely based on publicly funded professional training programs, that's the right thing to do to keep enhancing quality of life.

[love sosa]

Originally Posted by JManc

Are we back to comparing states to countries? No doubt CA is a economic juggernaut but it doesn't exist in a vacuum and it's largely due to it being a US state and within the largest most advanced economy in the world.

I disagree. The US is a juggernaut because of states like California, not the other way around.

Cut out NY, CA, and TX and watch the other 47 states freefall.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by love sosa

I disagree. The US is a juggernaut because of states like California, not the other way around.

Cut out NY, CA, and TX and watch the other 47 states freefall.

California owes its prosperity to federal government largesse, particularly in the form of defense contract spending.

[love sosa]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

California owes its prosperity to federal government largesse, particularly in the form of defense contract spending.

Defense spending is 2.1% of GDP.

https://www.ncsl.org/research/milita...economies.aspx

Data is from 2015 so the number is certainly under 2% now.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by love sosa

Defense spending is literally 2.1% of GDP.

https://www.ncsl.org/research/milita...economies.aspx

Some history:

Fairchild Semiconductor, considered the pioneer start-up of today’s Silicon Valley, won its first business through military contracts, building chips that helped send American astronauts to the moon, and helped build missiles that armed the US in the Cold War.

Then Lockheed set up shop in Sunnyvale and got a contract to build all the submarine missiles for the US. Its employee count grew from zero to 25,000 in four years.

“From the 1960s to the late 80s, the Valley was crawling with Soviet spies,” said Steve Blank, a retired entrepreneur and author of the Secret History of Silicon Valley.

Even before that, in the 1940s and 1950s, following World War 2, the US government began funding universities to research weapons technology. Fred Terman, dean of engineering at Stanford, encouraged graduate students and professors to spin their research into start-ups that sold their products to defence contractors. The first initial public offering out of Silicon Valley was in 1956 for a company called Varian, which sold microwave tubes for military applications.

https://www.ft.com/content/8c0152d2-...b-00144feab7de

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by love sosa

Defense spending is 2.1% of GDP.

The feds put vast sums into west coast military and research during/following WW2, and many attribute these initial investments as the precursors to Silicon Valley (in addition to SD's research institutions, LA's aviation industry, etc.). Silicon Valley was nursed to existence by federal $.

The feds have played a huge role in CA's prosperity, beyond the obvious, like SD's Navy presence and institutions like Scripps. Granted, this isn't unique to CA, by any stretch. Federal decisions play a huge role in overall prosperity.

[LA21st]

So why bring it up?


How much did the Feds help NYC in 2008, and wall street in general the last couple hundred years?

[love sosa]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Some history:

History is the correct word. Ancient history.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

California owes its prosperity to federal government largesse, particularly in the form of defense contract spending.

Obviously this isn't true at all. If that investment had somewhere else to go where it would have been more effective, but the feds decided to direct it to California instead, then you could accurately describe it as "federal government largesse." Smart money goes where the returns are greatest. It's the exact opposite of government pork spending.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by LA21st

So why bring it up?


How much did the Feds help NYC in 2008, and wall street in general the last couple hundred years?

Not to mention the auto industry bailout, farm subsidies, southern space and defense pork spending etc. There's a lot of places where taxpayers aren't getting value for their dollar.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by LA21st

So why bring it up?

The point is that govt. plays a huge role in localized economic outcomes. Silicon Valley wasn't a random burst of creativity, but rather spawned from unprecedented post WW2 defense spending.

[JManc]

California has drawn upon the innovative, intellectual and economic power of the entire US. I seriously doubt it (or any other big state) would be as prosperous on their own as independent states. Its prosperous because of the US not in-spite of it. You think NYC would be what it is had it not been the largest most influential city in the worlds biggest economy and cultural exporter. I'll answer that, no.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by Crawford

The point is that govt. plays a huge role in localized economic outcomes. Silicon Valley wasn't a random burst of creativity, but rather spawned from unprecedented post WW2 defense spending.

My point was if many other states get benefits from the govt, why bring single out California?

[The North One]

Originally Posted by LA21st

My point was if many other states get benefits from the govt, why bring single out California?

The great recession bailouts was the US saving it's own ass from the total collapse of capitalism. It wasn't some subsidy for any specific region or state. There's also an obvious difference to federal resources and industries being straight up handed to certain places over the course of decades. Space and other things going to the south is good example.

You're also missing the overarching point that California would indeed hold a fraction of it's economic size and population if not for the access to logistics, wealth, geography, infrastructure and protection of the United States.

[LA21st]

I never said it didn't need the United States.

[L41A]

Originally Posted by JManc

Are we back to comparing states to countries? No doubt CA is a economic juggernaut but it doesn't exist in a vacuum and it's largely due to it being a US state and within the largest most advanced economy in the world.

Exactly! And it is a large state in area which takes 2/3 of Pacific coastline. You put that size state anywhere on the Atlantic coastline (or in the Great Lakes region) and California numbers are tempered.