I'm mostly just joking with you. The Medjool dates that I buy come from California, so I'll give you that.
It is said that Florida is huge on cattle production, but, again, ask those ranchers and farmers in other states and they will give their opinion of Florida's cattle production. Like, "yea, they raise cattle there, but..........". When I was at the largest Stockyards in the U.S., the Oklahoma City Stockyards, I sure seen a lot of cattle go thru there from Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Texas. Hogs, aka swine, also.
Yes, that's true and probably one reason...our weather. And it's different depending on area. On the central coast its artichokes, lettuce, broccoli, etc. Here in Fresno it's the fruit and nut trees...plus I think we're tops in raisin production.
Boy have I felt that way a few times, but at the end..........everyone has their opinions, including me. When people talk, to me it can sound like "bad mouthing" sometimes, the rodeo industry and cowboy/ranch style of life, farming, having a power boat and on and on, I think "enough is enough", but end up rethinking and staying.
What about your wine industry? Now, that has to be huge. Went to a Winery in Temecula, California. Cool, very cool.
Yep, California wines are big...there's Napa Valley but we also have a few wineries in Fresno County. About 2 miles from my house is a huge olive grove where olive oil is made.
I'm not defending California or saying it's the greatest because it's not. It's expensive and Fresno is extremely hot and I like winter and snow and cold. At least I did 14 yrs ago...
Another thing I figured out, all to quickly as well, no matter what the thread is about, 99% of the time there will be those that either somewhat disagree or really, totally disagree. Of course, members aren't suppose to "pack their things up and go home", but some do.
Yes, we move to either northern Colorado or to southeastern Wyoming, we will find out quickly how we will handle the winters again. We left those winters in 2007, but..........to live where a person really wants to live, weather change is part of the area.
I was just kidding Ken about leaving. But, yes Ive taken a break from here a few times. Sometimes it's because of the forum, sometimes it's just that I'm not in a talking mood.
Actually this article is at least a week old. When I saw it I debated wether to post but decide against it because I didn't want to deal with the replies. Today I'm in a different mood.
California has the biggest economy of the states, but I was listening to a financial program over the weekend that commented on how much trouble the California government is in. Pension obligations (like in many other areas, mostly cities) to the public employees in cthe State of California are HUGE, even considering the size of the economy. The financial advisor was cautioning everyone from investing in the state because the pending debt is enormous. He said the welfare state is so large that only the top 20% of earners contribute more than they receive, and that, due to high taxes, many of those 20% are packing up to leave California if they are able. He said the top earners who are not able to leave the state are going to be under more and more pressure as the taxes go up due to the out-migration and the growth of welfare programs. The financial guru predicted hard times ahead for the most populous state and advised strongly against buying any California bonds. On the bright side, my wife and I toured in California last year and had a delightful time. I lived in the Bay area in the '70s and we revisited some of my old haunts. The folks outside the cities were still wonderful, and I enjoyed every minute of our time there.
I thought we were the 5th largest awhile ago. I guess we were lower. North of the Grape Vine is certainly different than the south of it. Speaking of growing, I was very unhappy to see red potatoes at WINCO Foods from Mexico yesterday. Another WTF moment. Can't be grow those here in the U.S? Of coarse we can. I bought the Yukon Gold "product of USA". Garlic was from Gilroy thank goodness. California bashing is a pass time actually. Some of it deserved I get it. But some of it not.