The Inland Empire's economic growth faces discrepancies in employment data. The proposed gravel pit near Casper Mountain sparks a debate between economic benefits and environmental preservation. Hurricane Beryl's economic impact hits hourly workers the hardest. The Massachusetts Senate passes a policy reform with potential implications for the criminal justice system. Simply Economics covers these stories to provide our viewers with insights into regional economic challenges, environmental conflicts, the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable communities, and policy changes affecting young offenders.
Sources:
https://www.sbsun.com/2024/07/12/the-inland-empire-is-a-puzzle-when-it-comes-to-recent-economic-growth/
https://www.wyomingnewsnow.tv/2024/07/12/prism-logistics-touts-economic-benefits-proposed-gravel-pit-not-everyone-is-convinced/
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/business/2024/07/12/493394/hourly-workers-are-likely-to-bear-the-brunt-of-beryls-economic-punch/
https://www.lowellsun.com/2024/07/12/senate-economic-development-bill-loaded-with-policy-and-2-86b/
Outline:
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:00:41) The Inland Empire is a puzzle when it comes to recent economic growth
(00:03:23) Prism Logistics touts economic benefits of proposed gravel pit, but not everyone is convinced
(00:05:02) Hourly workers are likely to bear the brunt of Beryl’s economic punch
(00:07:32) Senate economic development bill loaded with policy and $2.86B
Simply Economics
Discrepancies in Inland Empire’s Economic Growth, Gravel Pit Debate, Hurricane Beryl’s Impact, and Massachusetts Senate’s Policy Reform
The Inland Empire's economic growth faces discrepancies in employment data. The proposed gravel pit near Casper Mountain sparks a debate between economic benefits and environmental preservation. Hurricane Beryl's economic impact hits hourly workers the hardest. The Massachusetts Senate passes a policy reform with potential implications for the criminal justice system. Simply Economics covers these stories to provide our viewers with insights into regional economic challenges, environmental conflicts, the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable communities, and policy changes affecting young offenders.Sources:https://www.sbsun.com/2024/07/12/the-inland-empire-is-a-puzzle-when-it-comes-to-recent-economic-growth/https://www.wyomingnewsnow.tv/2024/07/12/prism-logistics-touts-economic-benefits-proposed-gravel-pit-not-everyone-is-convinced/https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/business/2024/07/12/493394/hourly-workers-are-likely-to-bear-the-brunt-of-beryls-economic-punch/https://www.lowellsun.com/2024/07/12/senate-economic-development-bill-loaded-with-policy-and-2-86b/Outline:(00:00:00) Introduction(00:00:41) The Inland Empire is a puzzle when it comes to recent economic growth(00:03:23) Prism Logistics touts economic benefits of proposed gravel pit, but not everyone is convinced(00:05:02) Hourly workers are likely to bear the brunt of Beryl’s economic punch(00:07:32) Senate economic development bill loaded with policy and $2.86B
- Duration:
- 11m
- Broadcast on:
- 13 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
Good morning, and welcome to Simply Economics. It's Saturday, July 13th. On today's show, the Inland Empire's recent economic growth remains a puzzle, while prism logistics promotes the economic benefits of a proposed gravel pit. Plus, hourly workers are expected to be most affected by the economic impact of barrel. Let's coverage in more, up next. I'm David, and you're listening to Simply Economics. We start off with the Inland Empire's employment situation, which is raising alarm bells according to a new analysis by economists Manfred Kyle and Mark Schneep. The analysis based on government statistics questions the reliability of employment numbers from California's Employment Development Department, particularly in light of recent international migration trends. For more on this, we're joined now by our economics correspondent. So what exactly is concerning about the Inland Empire's employment data? The main issue highlighted in the analysis is a discrepancy between job growth and the size of the labor force in the Inland Empire. While jobs have been increasing at a decent rate, the total employment reported in household surveys has been stagnant since early 2022. The authors suspect this may be due to the surveys not fully capturing the influx of international migrants that have come to California in the past few years, due to changes in federal policies. How does the Inland Empire's situation compare to other parts of Southern California? The Inland Empire is actually faring better than most of its neighbors. The analysis shows that the Inland Empire is the only region in Southern California where the labor force has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, albeit by a small margin. Los Angeles County, Orange County, Ventura County, San Diego County, and the state as a whole all have fewer people in their labor force compared to February 2020. But even with that relative advantage, the Inland Empire's growth seems to have slowed. What do the numbers show there? That's right. In the four years before the pandemic, the Inland Empire's labor force grew by 7.2%. In the four years since, including the pandemic period, that growth has slowed to 5.2%. Job growth has been even slower, averaging just 0.25% per year since February 2020. As a result, the unemployment rate has ticked up slightly from 3.9% to 4.3% or 4.8% when adjusted for seasonal factors. What factors might explain why the Inland Empire is outperforming its neighbors, even if its own growth has slowed? The authors suggest that the Inland Empire's relatively lower cost of living may be attracting younger residents to the area. This could be offsetting some of the labor force losses seen in other parts of Southern California. However, they also note that as the overall labor force ages with more baby boomers retiring, there will likely be downward pressure on both employment and labor force participation across the board. As economists continue to untangle the complexities of the post-pandemic labor market, another developing story is generating controversy. A proposed gravel pit near Casper Mountain in Wyoming has prism logistics, the company behind the project, touting economic benefits at a recent town hall meeting. But not everyone is convinced. Abby has more on this developing story. That's right, David. Prism logistics manager Kyle True estimates the gravel pit would bring in millions in royalties and sales tax for the state while creating 15 full-time jobs. The site sits on state trust lands, and True argues projects like this are necessary to drive economic activity. But the project is facing significant opposition from local residents and environmental groups. What are their main concerns? The Casper Mountain Preservation Alliance has been a vocal critic. They declined to participate in the town hall, alleging a lack of transparency from prism logistics. One member, Chris Navarro, spoke out at the meeting, saying the community is clearly against the gravel pit and that only a few individuals stand to benefit. How did prism logistics respond to those accusations? True pushed back, saying claims about the project's potential negative impacts have been greatly exaggerated. He welcomed having an honest conversation about the facts. Prism logistics plans to continue pursuing approval from Natrona County Commissioners while the Preservation Alliance has vowed to keep fighting the project. They say they've collected around 15,000 signatures in opposition so far. Thanks for the update on that contentious local issue, Abby. Shifting our focus now to the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Greater Houston, the storm may not have done the damage of a Harvey or an Ike, but the economic impact is likely to fall hardest on the people least able to bear it. Many businesses have shut down for days without power, and service workers have taken enforced breaks as clients lack air conditioning in the severe heat. For more on the economic fallout of Hurricane Beryl, we turn now to our economics correspondent. What can you tell us about who is being most impacted financially by this storm? The people being hit hardest economically are hourly workers living paycheck to paycheck. If they can't report to work because businesses are closed due to power outages, then they're not collecting a paycheck, and many of these workers are already struggling to get by. So missing even a few days of pay becomes a major financial burden. Having to throw out spoiled food from refrigerators during power outages compounds the hardship. Salaried employees who can work remotely are less likely to suffer lost wages, but will still face recovery costs. When will we know the full economic cost of Hurricane Beryl? What data will economists be looking at to assess the damage? It may take weeks or even months for the total economic impact to become clear due to lags in reporting key data. Economists will analyze things like sales tax receipts, employment levels, the purchasing manager's index, and cargo traffic through ports and airports. Some of this data will reflect recovery spending, like on home repairs and restocking refrigerators. But the net effect is still expected to be negative, at least in the short term. Can you explain more about why the net economic impact is likely to be negative, even with the boost from recovery spending? Any money that people have to spend repairing storm damage is money they can't spend on other things. So if someone has to pay to fix their house, that's cash they would have otherwise used to go out to dinner or take their kids to the movies. It's a diversion of spending away from the usual economic activity. The same goes for money spent on emergency supplies. It comes at the expense of typical consumer spending that helps drive the economy. So while there will be some stimulus from rebuilding, the overall effect of the unplanned storm costs is expected to be a drag. That was our economics correspondent with an early look at the economic toll of Hurricane Barrel, which is likely to be felt most acutely by the region's hourly workers. We'll continue to follow this story as more data becomes available. In other news, the Massachusetts Senate has passed a sweeping $2.86 billion economic development bill that includes a major change to how the state prosecutes teenagers. The bill aims to maintain the state's successful life sciences sector, while also making a massive investment in climate tech. But a key provision would change how 18-year-olds are handled by the courts. For more on this, we turn to our correspondent at the State House. What can you tell us about this juvenile justice reform that was included in the bill? After this reform that was added as an amendment to the economic development bill, most 18-year-olds would now be tried as juveniles instead of as adults, except for those who commit the most serious crimes like murder. The idea is to direct these teenagers to programming that better aligns with their brain development stage and aims to reduce the likelihood that they commit future crimes. Members say the juvenile system is better equipped to provide developmentally appropriate resources and avoid saddling these youth with adult criminal records that could limit their future opportunities. And this amendment had the backing of top Senate Democrats. Yes. Yes. The amendment to raise the juvenile court age was championed by Senator Brendan Crichton, Senate Majority Leader Cindy Cream and others. It passed on a 31-to-9 vote with five Democrats joining the chamber's four Republicans in opposition, but it had support from groups like the Boston Celtics in addition to more traditional advocacy organizations. Massachusetts last raised the juvenile court age in 2013 to include 17-year-olds and juvenile arrests have decreased since then. Turning to the broader economic development bill, how does it compare to what the House recently passed and what Governor Healy proposed? The Senate's $2.86 billion package dramatically scales back the investments into the life sciences sector compared to the House bill and what Governor Healy championed for months as critical to securing Massachusetts competitive edge against other states. The governor originally proposed $500 million over 10 years for life sciences, while the House bill included $400 million, but it still represents a major economic development bill with the juvenile justice reform just one component of the sprawling legislation. The bill passed the Senate unanimously even with the reduced life sciences funding. What are the next steps for this legislation? The bill's unanimous $40-0 passage came just before midnight after a long day of deliberations. As it differs significantly from the House version, the two chambers will need to reconcile the competing proposals before sending a final bill to Governor Healy, but with both branches on board with passing a major economic development package this session, the broad strokes seem likely to make it to the governor's desk even if the details shift. We will continue to track this economic development and juvenile justice legislation as it moves forward. Thanks to our State House correspondent for that update and analysis. And with that, we wrap up our stories for today. Thanks for listening to Simply Economics. We'll see you back here tomorrow. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]