Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

An exodus is taking place in the Bay Area, and it’s not just Twitter employees fleeing the company.

Analysis of tax return data suggests that wealthy San Francisco residents moved out of town in the early years of the pandemic, taking billions in revenue with them, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

In 2020, 32,000 more people left San Francisco than moved into the city, and the income of those who got out was nearly $8 billion more than those who came. That only compounded a problem the city already had. The year before, 39,000 more people left San Francisco than arrived, resulting in a net loss of $6.9 billion in wages. That means the city lost $15 billion in revenue over a two-year period.

The IRS tracks migration patterns by checking to see if taxpayers provided different addresses on their forms than the previous year. Then the agency can track how many people are leaving a region and of course the income of the people coming and going. During the two years the Chronicle analyzed, the median annual income of citizens leaving San Francisco was $153,000, while people arriving earned $103,000 per year.

San Francisco chief economist Ted Egan told the Chronicle that the data doesn’t necessarily mean wealthy people are fleeing en masse. He explained that it is possible for a small number of extremely wealthy people to drive the average. While the newspaper acknowledged that the IRS does not disclose data on individual incomes, it also noted that US Census Bureau data shows that “mean household income in the San Francisco metro area decreased between 2019 and 2021.”

Of course, not only people leave the City by the Bay. Nordstrom announced this week that it would be closing its downtown store, joining retailers like Office Depot, Whole Foods and Anthropolgie in giving up all San Francisco locations.

The post Wealthy Folks Left San Francisco With Their Billions, Knowledge Suggests – Robb Report appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Don’t rely on California, especially when banks are involved.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is widely discussed as a harbinger of the future, a sign of trouble at the tech companies that were its best customers. But this bank collapse actually fits a very old pattern – California is threatening the global economy.

Our state’s history of triggering economic crises is rooted in our need to get rich quick, a trait of our state since the Gold Rush.

The California Constitution of 1849 prohibited banking. But with the discovery of gold, banks grew fast – and collapsed faster. The history of San Francisco in the 1850s is one of financial panics followed by attempts to emerge from them. The Bank of California, the first commercial bank in the west, was founded in 1864 and had failed by 1875. (It was later reopened).

The catastrophe only spawned new banks. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, banker AP Giannini established a makeshift bank in North Beach. Eventually, he founded Bank of America, which was briefly the world’s largest bank in the 1980s.

Bank of America survived (but merged and moved to North Carolina). But for the past two generations, California has regularly caused crises and global recessions.

The savings and credit crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s was in part the result of banking deregulation promoted by a California President, Ronald Reagan, and California legislators. The state’s thrift, under financial pressure from high inflation, sought to escape their woes through speculative investments, which only aggravated their problems.

This deregulation was most shamelessly exploited by the Irvine-based Lincoln Savings and Loan Association and its director, Charles Keating, who used depositors’ money for high-risk investments. Keating, attempting to bypass federal agencies and retain control of his thrift, compromised five US Senators, known as the Keating Five, including Californian Alan Cranston. Keating was eventually convicted of fraud but released on appeal.

Hundreds of savings and loan banks have been closed forever. The federal government intervened to protect some thrifts and depositors at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $100 billion.

The 21st century has seen two California powered busts. The first came in 2000, when the collapse of many tech startups and tech stock prices helped trigger a national recession.

But this recession turned out to be minor compared to the Great Recession of 2008. This global economic meltdown is often blamed on Wall Street banks. But it too was invented in California.

Then as now, the Golden State had the largest and most expensive housing market in the country. Our middle class, in their ambitious desperation to buy homes and maintain an unaffordable standard of living, has paved the way to ever-growing consumer and mortgage debt. Our banks and mortgage companies—including Calabasas-based Countrywide Financial, once the nation’s largest mortgage lender—led the way in originating bad subprime loans that left borrowers owing more than their homes were worth. Countrywide and its Wall Street friends have also ruthlessly securitized these loans; They were then traded in the markets, with many investors not understanding the risks.

As the housing market collapsed and foreclosures increased, the carnage included the collapse of stock markets, double-digit unemployment, record bankruptcies for people and local governments, huge federal budget deficits, and mass layoffs among public workers and across many industries. In California, family income fell, the middle class shrank, and income inequality rose to the highest level in at least 30 years, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

Californians pride themselves on the size of their state’s economy, which will soon be the fourth largest in the world. But when an economy of this magnitude collapses, it expands across borders, adding to economic malaise from Madrid to Manila.

Because of this, world markets plummeted when news broke of depositors fleeing Silicon Valley Bank. California’s leading tech companies and their employees banked at these institutions, so many have assumed the contagion will spread as before. It remains to be seen whether the US government’s aggressive move to seize the Silicon Valley bank and even guarantee uninsured funds will contain the damage.

Today, major global institutions track and provide “systemic risk” or “mega risk” reports on the future of the world and its economies. The World Economic Forum has released a risk report covering natural disasters, inequality and its impacts, climate change, democratic decline, aging infrastructure, technological disruption, war, terrorism and infectious diseases.

Perhaps they should add California to the list with its flair for spectacular financial failures.

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for the Zócalo Public Square.

Joe Mathews

Originally published Apr 15, 2023 at 7:30 am

The post California’s wealthy historical past contains placing the worldwide financial order in danger appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Adele and Rich stepped out for a date night at the big NBA game on Friday (Picture: Getty/EPA)

Adele and Rich Paul have a lot to smile about these days so it’s no surprise they were full of laughter and in great spirits during their recent date night.

The happy couple, who recently confirmed they have moved into their first home together, sat courtside at the NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, California on Friday.

Rocking a chic yet casual outfit of double denim, Adele, 34, was pictured bursting into a fit of laughter at one point while watching antics on the court. Rich, 40, matching her casual vibe in a tracksuit, which was also highly amused at whatever gave them the tickles.

When they weren’t watching the game, the singer and sports agent only had eyes for each other and were enlarged in conversation.

During their high-spirited chat, Adele threw her head back in laughter at something Rich had said and even involved other spectators sitting beside her.

It’s the first time the couple have been seen together since the Hello singer revealed they had moved into their first home together. In a photo shared on her Instagram page, Adele is seen posing with Rich standing in the sprawling garden of a mansion as they both held up a set of keys.

Adele was full of laughs (Picture: EPA)

The couple were in high spirits as they watched the action (Picture: EPA)

They were enlarged in conversation at one point (Picture: Getty Images)

They recently moved into their first home (Picture: EPA)

Adele and Rich, a sports agent, are regulars at NBA games (Picture: USA TODAY Sports)

Their mansion reportedly set them back $58m (Picture: adele/Instagram)

The pair are said to have snapped up the property in North Beverly Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, reportedly paying an eye-watering $58million.

It’s spread across 18,587 square-feet (which is more than 18-times the size of the average home in the UK) and sits at the end of a cul-de-sac, up a long private driveway, and was built in 1994.

More: Adele

It boasts eight bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, and is situated on acres of lush, green land with a massive pool and putting green. The extremely large property also features a movie theatre, custom bar, gym, cigar room with an air-filtration system (handy) and, of course, a generously-sized swimming pool.

Earlier this year, rumors were rife that Adele and Rich were engaged after she was spotted wearing a ring on her left hand. She remained coy about the speculation but did confirm that she planned on having another baby within the next year.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : Ed Sheeran ‘to sing national anthem after Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant with star-studded friends’

MORE : Pete Davidson sneaks Kanye West joke in final Saturday Night Live appearance after announcing exit in emotional letter

The post Adele and Wealthy Paul loved-up on date evening after transferring into first dwelling appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.