California Still Leads U.S., Including in Inequality

Reuters: Perennial trend-setter California still represents potential aspects of the future of the United States, ranging from wealth and opportunity in Silicon Valley to abject poverty in the agricultural Central Valley. The Golden State has always seen itself as the best, and it still is for some, but a new study of federal census and state data covering longevity, education and income shows the state is also home to arguably the worst-off parts of the nation. Its diversity, continued attraction to immigrants, and a fast-changing economy that is still the world's eighth largest make it a harbinger for the globe as well as the nation, according to the study released this week. "Some Californians are actually enjoying the highest levels of well-being in the world, where the rest of the world won't be for another half-century," said Kristen Lewis, one of the authors of "A Portrait of California." But the report by the American Human Development Project, which uses United Nations-based indicators of health, wealth and education rolled into a Human Development Index score, also sheds light on less fortunate parts of the state. (here) The reputation of the most populous U.S. state as home of the good life has been tarnished as the mortgage crisis stripped families of homes, while the state's financial problems have undermined the education system and sense of opportunity that gave California its glittering