Rent and Salary in California 2023

This post works backwards from the cost of a small 1 bedroom in Santa Barbara to what you would have to make per hour if you were a part time worker.  

It is said that a person should spend approximately 1/3 of their income on housing, be that rent or mortgage.  It isn't all that clear to me whether this recommendation is before or after taxes, so we will examine both.  It is believed that Santa Barbara is expensive and that may be so, but it is only slightly pricey relative to many other parts of coastal California.  And of course California is expensive in various ways but also has a lot of advantages.  So we will work with Santa Barbara and then suggest an adjustment factor if you happen to be living in another state outside of a major metropolitan area.

Rent for a 1 bedroom in Santa Barbara in 2023 starts about $2,500 / month which means you would have to make a salary of $7,500 / month to live here or $90,000 / year.  Now federal and state taxes on $90,000 in California is about $25,861 / year which reduces your net salary to $64,139 or $5,345 / month.  If we take rent out of that it will leave $2,845 / month for all other expenses be they food, medical, savings, education, debt, and so forth.  

But I think when they say 1/3 of your salary on rent, they mean 1/3 of your net salary, which translates to approximately $135,000 / year gross salary.  This will leave the individual $5,000 / month for all other expenses and savings which seems reasonable.  

So lets take these two numbers ($90,000 and $135,000) as the limits of our calculations.  How much must you make per hour to live in Santa Barbara.  Well, if you are full time that would mean 52 weeks of 5 days per week or 40 hours a week.  That would mean 52*40 which is 2080 hours per year.  At 90,000 $US you would need to make approximately $43/hour.  To make $135,000 you would need to make about $65/hour.  

But the reality is that most people who are freelance do not work 40 hours a week all year long so they would need to make more than this per hour when they are working to support themselves.

Therefore we now know what one needs to make to live in a minimum place in Santa Barbara and that is between $43 and $65 per hour.   Maybe you live in Providence, Rhode Island or Eugene, Oregon in which case you might adjust these numbers down by as much as 1/3. 

Last time I checked minimum wage or Walmarts salaries were no where near that amount.  Do the math, government, and tell me what you think people should do.

Will California Protect Us?

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A friend asked if California would be able to protect its citizens from a fascist federal government.  Well, probably not, but its not black and white.

1. Any proactive blue state that can control their republican nuts in their state legislature should be able to pass laws that protect people, or their state attorney general can declare that they will not enforce a law, and the state police forces technically work for the governor. Then the DOJ can sue the state and tie things up in court.

2. But who controls the National Guard and can they be called out in spite of the Governor of the state saying no? Yes, they can. The president can declare that there is an insurrection and send in guard units from any state, not just the state with the insurrection, so called. Now when you have a shit-for-brains fascist like Trump, why would he ever be limited by the law or the constitution?

3. The FBI works for the DOJ and COINTELPRO and other history proves that under the right circumstances they will violate any law, any constitutional right, and not be punished for it. We dont know how many people the internal security forces framed and sometimes killed during the 1960s.

4. The judiciary has been stuffed with right wing nuts who will do whatever the right wants, no matter how egregious. See for example Kavanaugh and Barrett but at the appeals court level as well as the Supreme Court. Do you trust Kavanaugh or Barrett to protect your rights?

5. Fascists do not recognize any law that interferes with their power. The standard play is to call their supporters to "protect the country", see Jan 6. Why not send the various right wing militia groups into california to "restore order"?

So, IMHO, if we lose congress or the presidency, I am very skeptical that our institutions will protect us. I looked in vain as the country failed to protect us during the Trump administration.

A friend explained it to me, please excuse the semi-sexist language. "The Constitution is a gentlemen's agreement", my friend said. The whole thing fails when you have low class shits like Trump, Barr, Kavanaugh, etc.

Notes on the CA Driving Test

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Its a complicated story, but one of the last steps in getting my CA driving license back was to take a driving test (behind the wheel).  It was very complicated to get there, and lots of concerns about paperwork, but ultimately it did happen and I learned some things.

1. When you turn right, and there is a bike lane, you are expected to turn into that bike lane and turn right from there.  Which means that you are expected to look right as if you were making a lane change.

2. The last thing you do before a right turn is to look for pedestrians or bicycles (e.g. over your right shoulder).

3. They dont need you to look behind your shoulder (e.g. turn around) a lot, just a little to take a glimpse.

4. A pedestrian can be in the crosswalk as long as he/she is not too close on your side of the road.  Its a little confusing and I always err on the side of caution.

5. When turning left or right onto a one way street, there are many different lanes you can turn into, but pick one, and stick with it.  I wander a bit because I get confused about which lane I am supposed to be on.

6. No need to accelerate so much, my instructor said.

He was very nice and passed me, and maybe he did not have to do that.

That Secret Californian Medical Database

It was fun to go to Urgent Care in Santa Barbara and get a prescription for my ADD/ADHD medication.  This was very unusual and very convenient relative to going to the Emergency Room.  It would not have worked in Escondido, by the way.  

Apparently the new rules are that any prescribing doctor now has to check the database before giving a prescription.  What is entertaining about this is that the patient is not permitted to see his medical records that are in this database.

And you thought you lived in a fair and just society?

Recycling Computers in California

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In California, when you want to recycle old computers and electronic equipment, you cant just give them to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. They wont take them. You must take them to a special recycling center, hand them over one by one to an attendant, who will itemize them and have you sign a variety of forms that certify that you bought these devices in California. The net result is that one thinks twice or maybe three times before going through the hassle. It probably never occurred to those who make the regulations that people value their time and those who are maybe less filled with civic spirit will just throw these items away. Would it be so bad to have a dumpster or something at these recycling centers for electronic equipment that people can leave things in? Do we really need an itemized form of where they were purchased? Really?

[OK, my informants tell me that I have this all wrong.  That in other states, people pay when they are recycling their computers so they either come to California and dump them here or leave them in the desert.  In California, of course, you pay for this service when you buy the equipment. 

Also, my friends tell me that at other recycling centers in California, they literally unload your car for you and you dont even have to get out of the car, it is painless, etc, etc. ]