Six years ago pundits were writing California off, complaining about its migrant population, its business environment, and its politics. Today, all of that's changed.
With a democratic legislature and governor, a tech-based economy that's in tune with its Asian-Pacific partner nations, and a political culture that's embracing its migrant communities, California - according to Bloomberg News - is leading the U.S. economy, and the world away from Trump.
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California's secret? Whatever Trump does, it does the opposite. And it's working.
To be sure, it's a little more complex than running away from everything that our national embarrassment does from the White House, but the point is made. The United States under President Trump is going in the wrong direction. States that buck Trump's initiatives, like California, are doing well.
Specifically, Bloomberg notes:
* California has one-eighth of the U.S. population (39 million) and one-seventh of the nation's gross domestic product of $2.3 trillion.
* Far from being a mess, California's economy is bigger than ever, rivaling the U.K. as No. 5 in the world.
* California is the chief reason America is the only developed economy to achieve record GDP growth since the financial crisis of 2008 and ensuing global recession
As Bloomberg notes, Governor Jerry Brown is making the point that much of the U.S. growth can be traced to California laws promoting clean energy, government accountability and protections for undocumented people. Indeed, rather than treating its migrant populations as pariahs, criminals and terrorists as President Trump and much of the Republican Party is doing, California's leaders are embracing its newcomers. Governor Brown, now in his fourth term, considers immigrants a major reason for the state's success.
And contrary to what President Trump and his Flat Earth society of climate deniers are saying about climate regulations hurting business, California is becoming the poster child for the right mix of smart regulations and a viable clean energy policy.
Bloomberg writes:
No state or country has created as many laws discouraging fossil fuels and carbon while promoting clean energy. That convergence of policy and voter preference is paying off in the stock market.
California is home to 20 of the 130 companies in North America and South America that meet the standard classification of clean energy. These 20 companies produced a total return of 45 percent during the past 12 months, beating the clean energy benchmark's 13 percent, the S&P 500's 19 percent and the S&P 500 Energy Index's 6 percent.
As evidence of California's power to attract and maintain tech talent, take a look at Apple's new $5 billion "Space Ship" Campus, which they're building in Cupertino, California ... Ground Zero for what Republicans claim is a tax and regulatory hell hole.
There's more, much more, about California's new successes - away from Trump, and Washington - which you can access here.
- Mark
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