In an attempt to justify his numerous executive orders that eliminate policies that protect people against climate change, religious persecution, and hazardous work environments, Trump blamed it on the former President. During a press conference in February, Trump stated, “I inherited a mess.”.
This claim clearly warrants further research. Consider California which, with 39 million people, accounts for one-eighth of the population in the United States. California’s economy is booming, rivaling the United Kingdom for the 5th ranking in the world according to 2016 figures.
California is the primary reason that the United States has been able to achieve record-setting GDP growth since the 2008 financial crisis and global recession. The majority of America’s growth can be associated with California’s laws promoting protection for undocumented citizens, government accountability, and clean energy.
In terms of the stock and bond markets, which involve investors that have no allegiance to specific political parties, California has clearly outperformed the rest of the states during the past five years. California’s credibility continues to grow, as evidenced by the decreasing premium global investors are required to pay to protect against depreciation of the state’s debt obligations. This premium has declined more than any of the others states since they year 2012. Investors recognize the security offered by a state with increased protection for immigrates and additional regulations.
No other state or country have succeeded in making as many laws discouraging the consumption of fossil fuels while also encouraging clean energy. This mix of policy and voter preference is proving to be a boost for the stock market.
California houses 20 companies (out of 130) in North America and South America that are deemed to use ‘clean energy. A 45 percent total return has been produced by these 20 companies in the last year alone, clearly surpassing the clean energy benchmark’s 13 percent, 6 percent of the S&P 500 Energy Index, and 19 percent of the S&P 500.
Clean energy companies in California noted a 26 percent average annual revenue growth, close to three times the benchmark. Additionally, California chose to use 13 percent of their earnings on research and development opportunities in hopes of further increasing their clean energy success.
The clean energy boom, driven by technology, is the primary reason companies in California are leading their U.S. peers. Analysts are predicting significant growth, mostly thanks to California’s diverse, quickly growing economy. Growing by $42.3 billion during the first portion of last year, California beat the next fastest-expanding states, Florida and New York, combined.
In 2015, hunting, fishing, and forestry accounted for $39 billion of California’s revenue. Technology companies brought in almost $720 billion (roughly 54 percent) of revenue over a 12 month period.
Rather than losing jobs to companies overseas, California continues to create them and has also lowered their unemployment rate from 5.7 percent to 4.9 percent. Residents of the state are well aware of their state’s success and power and are creating policies that oppose Trump’s. The state, in a bold, first-of-its-kind move, voted to become a sanctuary state while also considering higher taxes and vehicle registration fees that would help improve infrastructure. While Trump’s approval rating continues to slide (lower than any new president) after his first 100 days in office, politics in California are doing the opposite. The University of California Berkeley Institute of Government Studies conducted a recent poll that determined that almost 60 percent of registered voters in California approve of the job performance by the legislature.
If this is what Trump considers a “mess”, he should cross his fingers for more of it.