There has been much talk about the state of the national economy. Everyone wants to predict the direction of inflation and employment. It seems everyday living costs continue to rise, and Californians are constantly facing financial challenges.
A report from the California Center for Jobs & the Economy states that the weak jobs market has seen unemployment remain above the 1 million mark for 15 months in a row, the highest since the pandemic recovery period in 2021. In that period, California has produced an average of 15.6% of the nation’s unemployed, or a third higher than the state’s overall share of the U.S. population.
According to the state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office, over 80,000 jobs were lost in 2024, with nearly 200,000 private-sector jobs gone since 2023. Sectors such as agriculture, trucking and independent construction — pillars of rural California — are being hit hardest by regulations, water uncertainty and rising costs.
The state is currently rated 50th for the most business-friendly climate. A Bureau of Labor Statistics study says we have been losing more companies than gaining since 2014. In 2022, we had a net decline of 741 businesses; in 2023, it was 523 fewer. This coincides with our being tied with Nevada at 5.4% for the highest state unemployment in the country.
The CEO of In-N-Out Burger recently announced she is moving her family to Tennessee, expressing the challenges of doing business in California. Some time ago, Carl’s Jr. noted that it takes five years longer to open a store in California than in Texas.
California legislative leaders raised the fast food minimum wage to $20 an hour (up from $16 per hour) starting in April 2024. Three economists noted in the National Bureau of Economic Research, “This is one of the largest one-time minimum wage increases in United States history.”
In March of this year, the state’s Employment Development Department issued a study saying there was a 3.2% decline, more than 23,000 jobs lost, in the fast-food sector from January 2024 to January 2025. This contrasts to the .8% increase in fast food employment nationwide. I voted against this wage increase knowing it would hurt employment and the ability of fast food stores to stay in business.
Covered California (state-offered health care) just announced its 2026 rates, highlighting a preliminary average rate increase of 10.3 percent. We have the highest state sales-tax rate (7.25%) and the highest gas tax (69.8 cents).
The California Air Resources Board last year approved new amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard that went into effect last month. It mandated a significant reduction in carbon intensity for fuel produced in California, forcing refiners to figure out how to comply while staying solvent.
Forcing cap-and-trade (where companies pay a carbon tax if their emissions surpass the state limit) and increasing taxes and fees all contribute to high fuel costs. Unfortunately, gas for our cars is something most of us can’t easily reduce from our family budgets.
State policy has gotten so bad that a Phillips 66 refinery near Long Beach is slated to close by the end of the year, and a Valero facility in Northern California announced plans to shut down next April. The closures could reduce California’s in-state oil refining capacity by 20%. Having fewer California refineries would increase reliance on foreign oil and continue to drive up gasoline prices.
Our state leaders’ regulatory decisions, forcing residents and businesses to eliminate use of fossil fuels, has reduced our energy options. Mandates are moving much faster than the state’s ability to provide widespread energy alternatives. And, reducing supply without reducing demand only increases costs.
Orange County’s median price for a single family home is now $1.2 million — a cost few residents can afford. The median home price across the state is over $900,000, up 11.4% from 2024, and sets a new record high for the state. These staggering high prices have not been met with a construction boom. Only about 101,500 new housing units received permits across the state last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey. That’s a 9% drop from the previous year and the state’s lowest annual total since 2015.
As your state Assemblymember, it is important to me that I work to bring down costs as much as possible for California residents. It is at the forefront of my agenda. I will continue to fight in Sacramento, working across the aisle with like-minded legislators, in an effort to ease the financial burden for everyone.
Laurie Davies is a small business owner and former mayor who was elected to the State Assembly in 2020 and reelected in 2022 and 2024. She represents the 74th Assembly District, which includes San Clemente, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano in South Orange County — down through Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, Vista and part of Fallbrook in North San Diego County. SC
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