The Economist ran a special report last week comparing Texas and California strengths and weaknesses. What's unavoidably obvious is that many of California's weaknesses stem from housing affordability. The finances of their schools are severely hampered by 50% higher salaries for teachers. That's not largesse, it's driven by the higher cost of housing. Teachers in California need that money to afford to live there. Net migration is negative (though population is still growing), and the overriding factor here appears to be housing costs. California spends a lot to help it's low-income population, almost 120% more money than Texas per person, yet still ends up with only a marginally lower rate of poverty after transfers despite a much higher average wage. Housing explains about 80% of the higher cost of living that negates California's more substantial efforts to have less poverty. So, if you care about any of these issues, you should ask, are high prope
Welcome to my Urban Exploratorium! My goal is investigating the links between the Urban and the Human. This is original content responding to current state and coverage of topics ranging from Urban development through Environmental Awareness to Human Wellness. Do leave a comment, feedback or question you’d like to see answered. Thank you for reading!