Why is Arizona so cheap compared to California (Phoenix, Scottsdale: buy, high income)

[GeneR]

Apparently the link on the earlier post failed so here's a repost...

There's an interesting examination of the assumption that red states receive more in federal subsidies than blue states. First this warning; if you prefer propaganda sheets such as Salon or Politifact then I suggest you NOT read this item

It Looks Like Red States Take Most in Federal ‘Welfare’ from this Map. But Looks Can Be Deceiving.

[autism360]

Originally Posted by GeneR

Apparently the link on the earlier post failed so here's a repost...

There's an interesting examination of the assumption that red states receive more in federal subsidies than blue states. First this warning; if you prefer propaganda sheets such as Salon or Politifact then I suggest you NOT read this item

It Looks Like Red States Take Most in Federal ‘Welfare’ from this Map. But Looks Can Be Deceiving.

this was interesting

And the bottom 6 states were: New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Hawaii, Illinois and California – all solidly blue states.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

And you use 2 of the more expensive places in the state to live

Well yeah, that was sort of my point.

[ScaryTucson]

Has little to do with red vs. blue, but has to do with the amount of educated population and cost of living, and the rate of wages.

The big cities and expensive places to live (hence Cali, Hawaii, New Jersey, etc.. etc...) are going to have people making more money, even working at Walmart you may be above the poverty line in some of these areas as Walmart has to pay a lot more than other parts of the country. AFIK, the feds do not adjust the poverty rates correctly for COL.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by GeneR

Apparently the link on the earlier post failed so here's a repost...

There's an interesting examination of the assumption that red states receive more in federal subsidies than blue states. First this warning; if you prefer propaganda sheets such as Salon or Politifact then I suggest you NOT read this item

It Looks Like Red States Take Most in Federal ‘Welfare’ from this Map. But Looks Can Be Deceiving.

No that article confirmed it. Republican states encourage federal tax dollars to be spent in their states so they can reduce top marginal state income taxes (which is a good indication of how state tax cuts actually work--shifting the pot), the article then confuses state and federal funding by mixing them together to lure readers into thinking that federal funds per capita are actually higher in blue states and then concludes that it is poor apathetic liberal voters not voting as the reason why the red states skew towards the top. The last point is the most interesting, are we supposed to believe that Alabama and Mississippi are actually blue states in disguise because their overwhelming apathetic liberal constituents are too lazy to vote? weak.

In fact a better conclusion from that article is that Blue states are taxing and spending money raised by their own citizens while Red states are being subsidized federally so that they can cut state taxes on their top marginal earners. Which would lend to the initial article, Red states take in more federal funding then Blue states do. Only now it appears they do it to subsidize their top earners, yet blames poor people?

It's a very weak article with some half-hearted analysis.

A real argument would be to look at which states have the most federal land, Entitlement Spending, Indian Reservations, Military Bases, and Federal Employees. But it doesn't do that, what a strange way to argue a point.

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

Arizona actually has some really nice areas with beautiful scenery and great weather, like Sedona and to a lesser extent Flagstaff (due to the amount of snow they get in the winter). The problem is that the major job centers have severe weather in the summer and thus aren't very desirable, at least compared to coastal California. Also wages are suppressed due to the politics. It's similar to Florida in this regard.

Flag IS cold, it's more like Chicago than LA or even Phoenix.

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by I Love Buildings

^ Makes me cringe that you admitted to being priced out of California, your own birthland. Your child is probably miserable in Inland Arizona wishing he was raised in CA. Oh well the less people the better. Too bad for every person that leaves there are 3 others gladly willing to take your spot. You just downgraded your family's life for moving in a barren desert.

That's just insulting there. Not all of us want to even put up with the crowding on the Calif coast even IF we had the money. I'm from Phoenix and I would NOT live there again cause of the crowding there in 2016.

[Marv101]

AZ has no zoning restrictions which explains the much cheaper housing statewide, and decades of unchecked environmental extremism contribute mightily to our sky-high gasoline prices---$2.85 a gallon vs. $1.99 a gallon in Phoenix or Mesa.

Those are just two reasons for 20 plus years of millions of folks leaving CA in their pursuit of a middle class life.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Marv101

AZ has no zoning restrictions which explains the much cheaper housing statewide, and decades of unchecked environmental extremism contribute mightily to our sky-high gasoline prices---$2.85 a gallon vs. $1.99 a gallon in Phoenix or Mesa.

Those are just two reasons for 20 plus years of millions of folks leaving CA in their pursuit of a middle class life.

Arizona has a lot of zoning restrictions...

[Akonyo]

Originally Posted by I Love Buildings

^ Makes me cringe that you admitted to being priced out of California, your own birthland. Your child is probably miserable in Inland Arizona wishing he was raised in CA. Oh well the less people the better. Too bad for every person that leaves there are 3 others gladly willing to take your spot. You just downgraded your family's life for moving in a barren desert.

I lived on the coast of California for over 3 years. Arizona is better, hands down, for many reasons. I was not priced out of California. I just choose not to live there.