California
California forces retailers to have ‘gender-neutral’ toy aisles. Why not let kids be kids?
Rather than meddle with the private sector, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers should focus more on a problem that is their responsibility: California’s record $68 billion budget deficit.
Pizza Hut announces layoffs in California
Nearly a hundred Pizza Hut franchises in California are laying off delivery drivers.
Fox – LA
I recently took my three young nephews shopping at a big-box store to pick out a few presents.
When we reached the toy section, none of them wasted time reading aisle signs. Rather, they beelined it for the dinosaurs and Legos.
Kids know what toys they like to play with, and they don’t care how adults label them – or group them together.
That hasn’t stopped California from swooping in with a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Starting this year, retailers with at least 500 employees are required to have “gender-neutral” toy aisles.
It’s a vaguely worded law dictating that stores “maintain a gender neutral section or area, to be labeled at the discretion of the retailer, in which a reasonable selection of the items and toys for children that it sells shall be displayed, regardless of whether they have been traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys.”
Yet the penalties are clear: Stores that fail to comply face up to $500 fines for “repeat” offenses.
It sounds like extreme government overreach to me.
This is how California is celebrating the New Year: with new heavy-handed regulations that will burden businesses and likely lead to higher costs and fewer jobs.
Legislating ‘kindness’ always comes with consequences
When introducing the bill, Assemblymember Evan Low, a Democrat, said his motivation was to prevent kids from feeling “pigeonholed” when wandering the toy aisles.
“No child should feel stigmatized for wearing a dinosaur shirt or playing with a Barbie doll, and separating items that are traditionally marketed for either girls or boys makes it more difficult for the consumer to compare products,” Low said in a statement. “It also incorrectly implies that their use by one gender is inappropriate.”
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Low said he was inspired to pursue the legislation after an 8-year-old asked, “Why should a store tell me what a girl’s shirt or toy is?”
Toy sections (at least ones I’ve seen) aren’t labeled specifically for “boys” or “girls,” but rather organized in ways that make sense for most consumers. Why would you put Barbie dolls next to monster trucks unless you want to frustrate shoppers? It would be like interspersing shampoo with the milk and eggs ‒ or power tools with cooking supplies.
The law is purportedly to “let kids be kids.” By politicizing their toys, however, California lawmakers are doing the opposite.
And the additional layer of government oversight and micromanaging will only cause a headache for employers – or encourage them to leave the state.
When the toy-aisle mandate was signed by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted: “In Texas, it is businesses – NOT government – that decide how they (retailers) display their merchandise.”
Anna May Wong is still making history: ‘Incredible for Barbie to expand my aunt’s legacy’
California should worry about its budget instead
In addition to fretting about the gender affiliation of toys, California politicians also hiked the state’s minimum wage to $20 an hour for fast-food and health care employers – a favorite policy initiative of progressives. That change will take effect in April.
And guess what? Businesses are reacting. Pizza Hut has said that it will lay off at least 1,200 delivery drivers this year. Another pizza franchise has similar plans to downsize its drivers.
$20 for flipping burgers? California minimum wage increase will cost consumers – and workers.
Other fast-food chains have announced that they’ll raise menu prices to compensate. Expect more of these restaurants to replace employees with mobile ordering and self-serve kiosks.
Rather than meddle with the private sector, Newsom and fellow Democratic lawmakers should focus more on a glaring problem that is their direct responsibility: the state’s record $68 billion budget deficit. (For comparison, Republican-controlled Florida has a $7 billion budget surplus.)
Newsom has claimed that California is a place where freedom thrives. These new laws make that assertion even harder to believe.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques
California
Dow Jones stock index crosses 40,000: Good or bad for California?
The stock market’s venerable yardstick, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, just made history – crossing 40,000 for the first time.
Yes, this milestone set Thursday, May 16, is only a brief emotional victory for shareholders. Yet it can be seen as a historical milepost for the broader business climate, especially in California.
To honor the moment, the trusty spreadsheet reviewed the Dow’s 5,000-point markers and how California fared in those periods using an economic metric (California unemployment), an interest rate (the average 30-year fixed mortgage), and home prices from the California Association of Realtors.
As we begin our data-filled voyage, let’s note the Dow first crossed 5,000 in November 1995 — back when you could buy the median-priced California single-family home for $176,000.
5,000-point mileposts
Dow passes 10,000 in December 1999: It took the stock index just over four years to double from 5,000 compared with a 28% gain for California homes to $225,000 in the same timeframe. This was an era when the economy broke loose from its early 1990s slumber. California unemployment dipped between 1995 and 1999 to 5% from 7.9% while mortgage rates rose to 7.9% from 7.4%.
15,000 in May 2013: The Dow needed more than 13 years to gain 50% to hit this benchmark vs. an 85% surge for homes statewide to $417,000 in the same period. This extended gap came during the financial rollercoaster ride from the bubble period in the early 2000s bursting into a Great Recession and then the economy’s slow recovery. So, California unemployment was 9.2%, up from 5% at the beginning of this crazy period. Yet, cheap money was one salve: 3.5% mortgages vs. 7.9% in 1999.
20,000 in January 2017: The Dow took under four years to gain 33% to gain the next 5,000 while homes statewide gained 18% to $492,000 as the post-crash rebound continued. California unemployment fell to 5.2% from 9.2% as mortgage rates ticked up to 4.2% from 3.5% in 2013.
25,000 in January 2018: The Dow needed just one year to gain 25% for its next benchmark vs. a 7% gain for California homes to $528,000 as the recovery hit full stride. California unemployment dipped to 4.4% from 5.2% while mortgage rates slipped to 4% from 4.2% in 2017.
30,000 in November 2020: The index took just under three years to gain 20% vs. 32% for California homes to $699,000 in the middle of the pandemic’s business wild gyrations. California unemployment surged to 9% from 4.4% – but investors cheered historically cheap money such as mortgages hitting 2.8%, falling from 4% in 2018.
35,000 in July 2021: It took the Dow less than a year to gain 17% vs. 16% appreciation for California homes to $811,000 as the pandemic’s economic surge was in full force. Statewide unemployment fell to 7.4% from 9% and mortgages remained cheap – 2.9% vs. 2.8% in 2020.
40,000 in May 2024: The Dow took almost three years to gain 14% vs. an 11% gain for California homes to a record $904,000 in April. The economy struggles to find its new normal as statewide unemployment fell to 5.3% in April from 7.4%. But mortgages got expensive as the Federal Reserve fought and overheated economy – 7% in April from 2.9% in 2021.
Bottom line
So, the Dow is up eight-fold since crossing 5,000 just over 28 years ago. California homes are only five times more expensive.
That’s not the point, though. This stroll down memory lane reminds us that the markets typically need a solid economy for stocks or homes to appreciate. Cheap money is the icing on the cake.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
California
California continues to lead in US unemployment rate
SACRAMENTO: The state of California continues to lead the United States in the number of job losses since the start of this year, reported Xinhua, quoting a report by California’s Employment Development Department on Friday.
The unemployment rate in California, home to around 40 million residents, remained unchanged at 5.3 per cent in April for the third consecutive month, maintaining the highest level in the country.
The report showed that the number of unemployed Californians was 1,027,000 in April – down by 5,900 from the previous month and up 164,700 year on year.
This is the second time in five months the total number of the unemployed has declined. It comes amidst sluggish job growth, with statewide employers adding just 5,200 nonfarm payroll jobs in April, a significant drop from the 18,200 jobs added in March.
According to the report, California’s employment landscape has been particularly bleak across several major sectors. Manufacturing, information, and professional and business services all experienced job losses in the past month, contributing to a less robust job market.
Meanwhile, five of California’s 11 industry sectors gained jobs in April, with private education and health services posting the largest month-over-month gain for the fourth consecutive month.
California
Priorities & Progress | Governor of California
Working towards a better life for all
Californians deserve a government that works for them and with them. One that will work to ensure opportunity and justice. This is the goal of the Newsom Administration.
We are informed by our history as a state and nation. We are building a California not for the few, but for all — including those who have historically been left out.
We are doing the work to make our state a place for every Californian and all the diversity that makes us strong. Our state will be known as a place where everyone is respected, protected, and connected.
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