Liberals excitedly point to the so-called “California miracle” — the relatively healthy rise in the Golden State’s prosperity as measured by recent GDP increases. And yes, the state has done well these last four years. But that’s been primarily a rebound from its deep, painful recession — a recession worse than almost all other states experienced.
Sadly, this boasting by progressives is cherry-picking at its worst (or best, I suppose) — the selection of a narrow time frame. Instead, we should look at the GDP growth of the Golden State over the FULL recession cycle — from the end of 2007 through 2015 — and compare CA with the progressives’ nemesis state — Texas.
GDP (trillions)***** 2007 ********* 2015 *** % Increase
California ********* $1.999 ****** $2.225 ******* 11.3%
Texas ************* $1.179 ****** $1.630 ******* 38.2%
Not even close. Over that time frame, Texas has grown more than THREE TIMES FASTER than California. Actually 3.4 times faster (Texas grew at a 4.1% annual rate vs. 1.2% for California).
You can go to the source below and compare any state with other states. The data is available from 1997 through 2015:
NOTE: The data source is the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — an unbiased, reputable reference.