Despite being the fifth largest economy in the world, California remains one of the most unequal states in our nation. There is Silicon Valley, with billionaires mixed with rampant homelessness. The California tax system is set up to inadvertently aid those who are already wealthy. Free programs to help the homeless are not working. Middle-class families are leaving California in droves.
According to census data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, over the course of 2022, 340,000 people left the state of California. The state lost enough people to lose an entire Congressional representative.
For those who stay in California, the median income to survive continues to go up. In a study published in 2022, Pew Research Center defined “middle-income” adults as “adults in 2021 with an annual household income that was two-thirds to double the national median income in 2020, after incomes have been adjusted for household size.”
Pew explains that a middle income equals an annual household income of $52,000 to $156,000 for a family of three, based on 2020 dollars. These numbers have not been adjusted for inflation since then.
Some areas that have been considered middle-class cities to live in are Anaheim, Riverside and Carlsbad. Now, for a family of three to live in those cities, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey, Anaheim residents on the high end of middle class need a median income of $165,000, Riverside at $154,000, and Carlsbad at $182,000 of the median middle-class income to take care of a family of three.
Resident Scott Warner, who currently resides in Burbank, states that “the prices are ridiculous here. Sometimes I do not know how I am going to make it.” Warner stated, “One day I was driving around Newport Beach for fun, looking at houses for sale. This is where I found a house for sale. Sure, it was close to the beach, but it is like looking at a small box. I cannot believe someone would pay $4 million to purchase it.”
The American middle class is vanishing. Household incomes for the middle class are rising, but as Real Clear Policy states it is primarily due to more work, including longer hours, rather than better wages.
For any idea from Congress to become a reality, regarding the middle class, there needs to be congressional support and addressing fears about the fiscal impact of any new spending.
For a state like California, Gov. Gavin Newsom must look what the incentives are that would make a middle-class taxpayer want to stay in California.
Stefanie Daubert is a reporter/writer for The Epoch Times. She is a podcaster, video creator and blogger.
