Trash California? Bad idea, S. Dakota
TO » South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
FROM » Columnist with trusty spreadsheet
Life must be good in South Dakota because I saw you had enough free time to post on Facebook a picture of a car with this message on its rear glass: “Escaped Communism. Returned home to freedom. California sucks.”
And your comment? “Today at Mount Rushmore. Another freedom lover rescued from California! Welcome to South Dakota.”
Her post drew 17,000 comments some of which decried the comment, calling Noem immature, embarrassing and divisive.
“Let me know when you figure out the irony of posting this on Facebook using an iPhone,” commented Lee Fink. The companies that make the popular device and created the social media titan are based right here in California.
Like any state, California isn’t perfect, and it isn’t for everybody. And as I recently did for another California-phobic Republican governor, Doug Ducey of Arizona, here’s a little help understanding my state’s economic success with some data-based food for thought.
You might consider applying California’s “communism” to your state after reviewing this list.
People? I view population as a measure of popularity, and in this case, it paints your state poorly. South Dakota’s 887,000 residents are approximately the same size as our Kern County. By the way, 10 California counties have even more people.
Movers? Since your post highlighted migration trends, I’ll note that your state lost an average of 3.3% of its population annually to other states in the past decade. Only nine states fared worse. Oh, California lost only 1.6% of its people annually — half your exit rate and the nation’s third-lowest exit rate. What exodus?
Costs? Yes, California is expensive. Our cost of living is 32% higher than your state and our homes cost triple what South Dakotans pay. But you get what you pay for, right? California’s household incomes also are 30% above your state.
Taxes? South Dakota has no income tax, and California has high tax rates. But when the Tax Foundation studied all state and local tax burdens, your state’s 9.1% rate was only 14th best vs. California’s 11.5%, eighth highest. Apparently, 39 million folks here think the extra 2.4% is worth it.
Handouts? How did South Dakota pay its bills with fewer
tax dollars? Perhaps it’s the $5.6 billion more it took in from the federal government than its citizens paid out in taxes from 2015 through 2019, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government. You should be thanking Californians, who paid $43 billion more to Uncle Sam than they got in return.
Jobs? Your statewide workforce of 434,000 would make South Dakota the No. 11 job market in California — ranked between San Mateo and Contra Costa counties. Before the pandemic started, South Dakota had boosted jobs by 18% this century, trailing California’s 23% growth.
Jobless? Congratulations on one of the swiftest economic rebounds of the pandemic era. South Dakota’s 2.8% unemployment rate for May was bettered by only New Hampshire, Vermont, Nebraska and Utah. California’s jobless rate is still 7.9%. Only Hawaii and New Mexico are worse.
Tiny? Oh, did you know South Dakota’s $49 billion gross domestic product — an annualized measure of business output — is dwarfed by numerous California yardsticks, including the huge projected state budget surplus? Or that California’s overall economy is 57 times bigger than yours, by GDP math?
Output? Yes, South Dakota’s GDP grew 2.4% in the 12 months ended in March, the third-biggest jump in the nation. California’s economy slipped 0.2%. Don’t brag too much because, during the previous 10 years, California’s GDP grew 38%, the fourth-highest rate in the U.S. South Dakota? Just 21% or 20th best.
Health? Governor, there was a harsh cost to your state’s quick business bounce off the pandemic bottom. Your modest coronavirus precautions meant South Dakotans suffered the thirdhighest COVID-19 cases per capita rate among the states and the 10th-worst death rate. California’s health cautions may have cost jobs, but it resulted in its citizens having the 13th-lowest infection rate and 18th-best death rate.
Quality of life? It’s not just my opinion that California does well with its brand of freedom. When I recently reviewed seven “best places to live” scorecards, South Dakota scored a No. 31 rank among the states. California had the 17th-best livability, by this math.
P.S.: To the ex-Californian with the car in the Facebook photo. Thank you, we needed your home. Good luck in South Dakota.