STAY CONNECTED
Join in the conversation at
Facebook. Visit our YouTube
channel or subscribe to RSS (below)
read our latest articles.
Join in the conversation at
Facebook. Visit our YouTube
channel or subscribe to RSS (below)
read our latest articles.
Can the Trump Economy Trump Trump?
/in Politics, The Economy /by Joel Kotkinby Joel Kotkin — President Trump’s critics find it hard to give him credit for anything, especially given his extraordinary boastfulness. Yet Trump’s economic policies seem to be working. New job numbers are robust and wages continue to rise.
A New Vision for Southern California
/in California /by Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplanskyby Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky — Since the start of the last century, Southern California has been a pioneer in building ways of living, and an economy, that broke with normal convention. Our region created a new paradigm, one both defining suburbanism and friendly to middle class aspirations, that attracted millions here.
Tech’s New Hotbeds: Cities With Fastest Growth in STEM Jobs Are Far From Silicon Valley
/in Demographics, The Economy /by Joel KotkinThe conventional wisdom sees tech concentrating in a handful of places. To a considerable extent, that was true – until it wasn’t. The most recent data on STEM jobs suggests tech jobs are shifting to more affordable places…
Is There a Niche for Sensible Politics in America?
/in Politics /by Joel KotkinGiven the current state of American politics, and those of our state of California, our founding fathers might well consider not just turning over in their graves but boring deeper towards the earth’s core. Yet amidst the almost unceasing signs of discord and hyperbolic confrontation, there exists a more sensible approach which could help rescue our wobbling Republic.
In the New Year, Worry-Free California Has a Lot to Worry About
/in California, Demographics /by Joel KotkinWishful thinking and noble intentions ignore California’s slowing state economy, and a structural deficit —keyed largely to state worker pensions— a looming fiscal crisis.
What’s Red, Blue, and Broke All Over? America
/in Politics, The Economy /by Joel KotkinBeneath the sex scandals, moronic tweets, ridiculous characters, and massive incompetence that dominate Washington in this mean period of our history lie more fundamental geopolitical realities. Increasingly it is economics—how people make money—rather than culture that drives the country into perpetual conflict.
Is the End Near for Religion?
/in Religion /by Joel KotkinEven at this season that should be about spiritual re-awakening, it is hard to deny that we live in an increasingly post-religious civilization. Virtually everywhere in the high-income world, faith, particularly tied close to institutionalized religion, has been dropping for a decade.
The New Mandarins of the Deep State
/in Politics /by Joel KotkinThe shocking defeat of GOP Senator hopeful Roy Moore may not spell the end of Trumpism, but you can see it from there.
The Cities Where a Paycheck Stretches the Furthest 2017
/in Demographics, Urban Affairs /by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Coxby Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — We often conflate high salaries with prosperity, but that can be deceptive. At the Center for Opportunity Urbanism, we developed a Standard of Living Index to get a better sense of where a paycheck stretches furthest in 2017.
Eric Garcetti for president? Really?
/in California, Politics /by Joel KotkinSomeone may be putting something in the Los Angeles water supply. Recently, two unlikely L.A.-based presidential contenders — Mayor Eric Garcetti and Disney Chief Robert Iger — have been floated in the media, including in the New York Times.