California world's sixth-largest economy? Not anymore

California world's sixth-largest economy? Not anymore
WCBSTV
Friday January 12, 2007
By AARON C. DAVIS
Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- How great is California? Well, if it broke off from the United States and became its own country, it would be the ``sixth-largest economy'' in the world, as the oft-repeated phrase goes.

The description has become ubiquitous, championed so often by politicians and reporters that it has become boilerplate for describing the state's buoyant economy. Most recently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used it in his state of the state address to make a case for comparing California to ancient Greece a modern-day ``nation-state.''

``California has the ideas of Athens and the power of Sparta,'' Schwarzenegger said during Tuesday's address. ``As you know, California, if a nation, would be the sixth-largest economy in the world.''

If only it were true.

California's economy no longer ranks No. 6, but rather is the eighth-largest economy in the world.

The state, with about 37 million residents, ranks behind the United States, Japan, Germany, China, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, according to U.S. Commerce Department and World Bank figures. Spain and Canada complete the top 10.

No California official has bothered to correct the figure's public use. Schwarzenegger, it turns out, has never even governed the sixth-largest economy.

The state ranked seventh when he was elected during the 2003 recall election, having just slipped behind France and Italy in gross domestic product, according to the World Bank and California finance officials, who annually rank the state's economy based on figures provided by the Commerce Department.

California last ranked sixth in 1999.


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Seriously California is starting to feel the effects of our third world mexicans. Who wants to bet on when this will drop to 10? You would think after what happen to the gulf coast and New orleans turning Illigal. That the economy would be sliding downwards for the United states, I'm very surprized that we are still growing at 1.5 percent or so per year?

, 996,996 were born in Latin America, and 13,859 were born in Northern America. Of such foreign-born people, 569,771 entered between 1990 to March 2000. 509,841 are naturalized citizens and 1,002,879 are not citizens.
By the next national census, Los Angeles is expected to have a Latino majority for the first time since 1850. The city has the second largest percentage of foreign-born citizens of any major U.S. city, after Miami. The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the number one entry for immigrants in the country. The Hispanic (Mexico, Central America and South America),

Data from LA city sec of Wik...Once they are made legal, they will make easlier for more to come in to, once they can vote.