Will California Become Another Michigan?

Dan Walters: Will California become another Michigan?

Has California’s recession-wracked economy finally bottomed out and begun to recover, albeit slowly?

Or has California become another Michigan, doomed to a semi-permanent state of economic malaise?

Gov. Jerry Brown adopts the former version in his revised state budget. He calls it a “modest drawn-out recovery” and cites “positive economic signs” such as a fractionally declining unemployment rate, growth in manufacturing and rising exports from the state.

But the budget also notes such negative factors as “weak housing markets (and) depressed construction activity,” and Japan’s devastating earthquake. And it says that recovery will be painfully slow, with non-farm employment not reaching pre-recession levels until 2016, nearly a decade after the recession began.

Yes. A Michigan without any manufacturing, since it has left for other countries or states, is my best guess.

Which young couple wishes to wait for housing costs to come down to a manageable levels while social welfare costs, including public education and prisons skyrocket because of illegal immigration?

California may see some slight economic improvement but unless structural budget changes occur and the attitude towards business becomes friendly, California = Michigan.

The population exodus of educated, productive citizens will only accelerate.