California

The US is waking up to the fact that the country cannot go down the path that Europe has chosen since that leads to recession. The same lesson is being learned within the US as the country watches the situation in California where they are pushing wind and solar. They have shut down all but one of their nuclear power plants and it is schedule to close in 2030. Drilling for oil in the Monterey Shale basin is being curtailed for environmental reason while offshore drilling is ending for the same reasons. A proposed 65 cent gas tax will add to the current $4.50 price. The state income tax at 13.3% is the highest in the country. On the other end 40% of the people are on Medical the state funded medical care and 50% of new babies are born under Medical. One/third of all people in the US on public assistance live in California and they are under CalWorks. It provides cash aid and helps families with expenses like housing, food and utilities. The average cost of electric power in the US is19 cents per kWh but 35 cents in California. The cost of housing is $773,000 in California vs $355,000 average in the rest of the country. The top one percent of wage earners pay half the taxes. The result of all this is that the rich and the poor are OK but the middle class is suffering. This is what happened to the middle-income groups across the country over the past 50 years.