Dean Hess on Economic Prospects for Inland Empire

Dean Gregory Hess (CMC Economics) was quoted in Bloomberg today about the economic prospects for Inland Empire. The recent economic downturn has been especially difficult for the Inland Empire where unemployment is around 9.5% percent, one of the highest places in the nation.

Here is what Dean Hess said.

“Riverside County is an extreme example of a lot of the economic excesses from the recent boom,” said public economics professor Gregory Hess of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California. “It hasn’t hit rock bottom yet, which suggests that either the county is doing something right or there is more bad news to come.”

This kind of ominous news echoes the predictions of Professor Manfred Kiel (CMC Economics) who says that we aren't out of the woods when it comes to the housing bubble.

For those interested, Professors Kiel and Hess will be taking part in a round table discussion with Professors Filson, Willett, Blomberg, and Weidenmier on whether or not we'll see an economic recovery in 2009. The talk will be held in the Athenaeum on February 16.

DeVore Says "Republican" Term Has Got To Mean Something

Claremont McKenna alum, Chuck DeVore, is still running for Senate, but he hasn't forgotten his duties as an Assemblyman from Irvine. Here's the most recent news.

In Saturday's San Francisco Chronicle, 

"If you go back to the budget we had four years ago, we'd be in balance," Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, countered. Sure, but given California law, court decisions, increased case loads and collective bargaining agreements, it is impossible for Sacramento to enact a go-back-in-time budget.

DeVore has proposed opening up state oil leases to raise billions in new revenue that he says could raise $5 billion. That's still about $37 bil short.

DeVore argued that Republicans have to oppose tax increases because, "The brand of what it means to be Republican is now in jeopardy of meaning nothing." So instead the brand has come to mean: more spending without paying for it. 

On the contrary, the brand needs to be reclaimed and this crisis is just the time to do it. DeVore is right -- perhaps even politically courageous -- to bring us back to those First Principles. Californians have been beat up by Big Government programs and we need to stop paying for them yesterday.  Chuck DeVore's an adult who understands this. In a sob story from Mercury News, DeVore says its time to get tough on the people living on our doles. 

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, counters that the program is overly generous, with lax eligibility standards that make it too easy to fudge.

"There are definitely people on CalWORKS who shouldn't be there under federal law, and this would include felons and illegal immigrants," DeVore said. "We should go back and look at who is qualifying for these entitlement programs and make sure only the truly needy are getting state assistance."

Only in California would someone with a common sense idea be treated as some kind of bad man. But for Democrats (and until recently Schwarzenegger), the welfare state only grows in one direction.