Drought of Real Solutions
Everybody has undoubtedly heard the news that Governor Schwarzenegger has declared that California is in a drought and we need to conserve as much water as possible. The homebuilding industry is especially concerned about California’s water situation and shares the Governor’s commitment to increase our water supply and improve our water conveyance infrastructure.
Our industry stands ready to work with Governor Schwarzenegger and our legislative leaders to solve the water crisis facing our state.
However before we can find solutions, we need to set the record straight about growth in California and the real impact new homes have on water demand. As Dan Walters recently pointed out, “California’s population has doubled since the last major water projects were built in the 1960s, and it probably will increase by another third by 2030. Having more people means more demand for water, even with the most stringent conservation programs.”
What about the minimum wage?
Lots of political and economic notice has recently been taken about the sharp increase in the national unemployment rate, up a half-point to 5.5%, which is a ten percent jump from the previous month’s level of 5%. However, closer inspection of the numbers reveals what might be either an anomaly or – more tantalizing – a policy outcome.
Nobody is claiming that the overall unemployment situation is not deteriorating. But John Silvia, chief economist with Wachovia, said the unemployment rate was distorted by a big jump in teenage unemployment in May, to 18.7% from 15.4%, as the school year ended and teenagers started searching for jobs. The rates for all adult men and women stood at 4.9% and 4.8%, respectively, reflecting much smaller increases.
According to some observers, it is at least possible that in addition to the more general problems in the US economy, last summer’s increase in the federal minimum wage as well as the next jump coming in late July are behind the particulars here. Last July, the federal minimum wage increased to $5.85/hour and will increase to $6.55 next month. With a sluggish economy, it certainly seems possible that the higher minimum wage is discouraging employers from hiring lower-skill workers whose productivity cannot justify paying them that wage, particularly if they know they will have to give them a raise come late July.
Joel Kotkin Warns: Global Warming Issue Could Lead to Social Engineering
Noted Urban Studies scholar Joel Kotkin argues that some in the environmental movement are using the issue of global warming to further an agenda to regulate land use and force people to move back into cities, creating high density living conditions.
Kotkin, Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University in Orange, California and author of THE CITY: A GLOBAL HISTORY, spoke at a recent conference on California Public Policy sponsored by the Claremont Institute.
A self-described life-long Democrat, Kotkin spoke of how the global warming issue is being used politically by those with an agenda. Kotkin said in this case the issue is not about energy or environmental effects but rather about compelling people to act in a certain way. “Its a social agenda.”
Kotkin charged that “urbanists” want people to move to the central city to cut down on driving miles. Kotkin noted that in Los Angeles only 4% of the population works in the central city as compared to 50% in New York City.