California News

California Gets Hit by Economic Free Fall Amid Coronavirus Crisis

California, the beautiful constituent state of the United States of America is presently reeling under the chaos created by the global Coronavirus pandemic. The state was the first to announce lockdown in the country to eliminate the expansion of the pandemic.

Interestingly, where Californian authorities succeeded in controlling the spread of the infection and the skyrocketing death figures that characterized the regions in the Northeast, the economy has come to shatters due to the shut stopping of business operations. Tom Steyer, the ex-presidential candidate, who is now heading the state’s economic recovery task force has addressed the situation as an “Economic free fall.”

In a recent Zoom call, four ex-California governors, Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jerry Brown discussed about the crises faced by them during their times and the current COVID-19 scenarios. They stated that the situations built up at present are more aggravating in comparison to any of the past incidents faced by the state. The current governor, Gavin Newsom revealed that the unemployment rate of California is more than 20 percent which is higher than the 14.7 percent mark of New York. With a budget deficit of $54 billion, California is likely to reduce grants to schools, social programs, health care, and road construction programs in the near future.

California owns the country’s biggest tourism industry, public university network, entertainment industry, port system, and is also the biggest food producer. Due to the lockdown, the state’s economy has been devastated and it is likely to bear the maximum impact of the recession in the coming weeks. With ports and tourism industry coming to a halt, a majority of service workers, truck drivers, etc. have lost their jobs. The unemployment mark of 5 Million at present has doubled the highest score during the Great Recession period.

Talking about re-openings, California is following a precautionary measured outlook. The locals have followed the stay-at-home orders diligently with limited visits to retail and pharmacies. According to Mr. Steyer, the technology sector is likely to play a significant role in reviving the economy. Also, the state authorities are urging the federal government to grant big bailouts to support the situation. With industries facing downfall and unemployment rising steeply, the Californian authorities are on a roll to bring things back on track at the earliest so that the impact of the recession can be eliminated in a big way.

Anthony Wilson

Anthony Wilson is a news reporter and columnist at CapitalBay.News. He regularly contributes news articles covering all the latest topics like corona, international money, and business.

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