Abcarian: Is “California sober” a real thing, or just an excuse to keep getting high?
Hi, folks. The state of California is experiencing some of the longest unemployment in the country, at a time when they desperately need new and innovative ideas.
I’ll get to the “California sober” business when we talk about how the state has been running a secret underground drug lab. But I have to say, if I had to rank the states on the “Sober” scale, I’d put New Jersey and Pennsylvania at the bottom of the table.
In the meantime, here’s a look at how the state is doing this year. At the end of the story, the real “California sober” takes over.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, the unemployment rate in California for May was 3.5%, the highest it has been since January. That’s nearly 1.5% above the official state rate of 2.6%. And it’s in the highest quarter-year reading on record.
According to USA Today, the unemployment rate has now climbed an unprecedented 23 points since the middle of June.
It’s been over 3% for 29 consecutive months, and over 5% for 33 months. It’s been 14% for 13 straight months. And it’s been over 22% for eight straight months.
Now, I know all that information is pretty basic. And if you happen to have seen recent numbers, you know that “California sober” is a real thing.
But here’s what’s really going on with this “California sober”:
Let’s start with unemployment. According to a press release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total unemployed in California now stands at 1.3 million.
That’s not a typo. There are now more people unemployed in California than in all the other 50 states.
You’d think that would make people concerned.
Here’s the thing, though:
1. You never hear anything from the press about the unemployment rate.
2. Most reporters and pundits won’t tell you that they think there’s a little bit of a problem with the state of California.
3. They’re just not looking at the long term unemployed, as opposed to people who have been unemployed for more than one year.
All