Third California
Joel Kotkin procliams the Central Valley the "Third California" in the LA Times. The first and second California were San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively. Now everything's coming up Bakersfield!
Forget the brain drain for a moment and look at the evidence Kotkin puts forth: the fastest population growth in the state, more manufacturing job growth, "double-digit" white-collar job growth, and construction of more expensive homes. Much of Kotkin's analysis is anecdotal at best (it is an editorial after all), and brushes over the regions myriad challenges.
But still he's on to something; we all know Fresno is changing (see: Sephora, Claim Jumper). Take, for example, the series in Sunday's Fresno Bee about the shortage of ag workers. Farmers are losing labor to higher-paying jobs in construction and service, and are adjusting what crops to plant accordingly. There's not enough cheap immigrant labor to satisfy demand.
On the one hand that's something to celebrate- economic growth is lifting up those on the very bottom. But on the other hand, it's forcing the region to face tough realities. Is the best use for land in the San Joaquin Valley still farming?
Would that land be more productive if it housed a complex of white-collar workers? Does it make more sense to move the farms to where the labor is, in Mexico and other countries? What does a SJV without farming look like? Cosmopolitan paradise or suburban hell?
not enough cheap labor? um, nope...too many cheap growers
i think it's more about the fact that these jobs don't pay enough for people to live in any kind of sustainable way on that pay, not necessarily that there's not enough cheap labor...farmworkers are moving into other kinds of work because they can't feed themselves or their children. there's plenty of people here who are happy and willing to do the skilled work it takes to harvest our food, but the farmers won't pay.
as one who grew up on a farm
as one who grew up on a farm in the valley, and as one whose grandfather and great-grandfather farmed here, i find it unbelievable that the best farmland in the world should end up with a crop of suburban houses. but, since there's no justice..........
I would imagine that given
I would imagine that given prevailing market and regulatory forces, it would look much like orange and los angeles county. They were powerhouses in ag at one time, you know.
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