A Great Place to Live...But Not To Earn A Living

By Dennis Lockhart

The California 45th Congressional District has everything anyone would want--except good, well-paying jobs. Median income in the District is in the bottom 25% of California Districts, and it is not getting better.

Many people who have moved to the "inland empire" because of the staggering price of housing in Los Angeles and Orange counties have come in for a rude shock. Prices in the Riverside-San Bernadino area, which includes western parts of the District, had the highest percentage increase, 26%, of any metro area in the United States. And the Palm Springs-low desert area recorded a 21% jump. Yes, the prices for housing are still less than Los Angeles and Orange counties, but so are wages, leaving these recent arrivals to the District no better off than before.

The answer is to attract better jobs, which means higher-quality employers. This is not happening in the District. In the last five years, the major growth industry in this District has been Indian gaming. There is nothing wrong with having the casinos--although they produce nothing, have relatively few high-paying jobs and are, in any case, the province of Native Americans. But when gambling is the main growth industry in a District, it is obvious that there is a problem. And it cannot be solved simply by activity at the local level. Initiative and direction have to come from the top, as well. This is one trickle-down theory I support. If the Representative takes the lead in Washington, a domino effect can occur. An enthusiastic push in Washington is much more effective than one in Sacramento. Indeed, much of the money that comes from Sacramento originates at the federal level in Washington. It would be one of my primary goals to drive the federal money machine toward this District in any constructive way possible.