Inflation bore down hard on Californians in 2022, but the effect was especially toxic at the lower reaches of the income scale. By last fall, two out of three households in the state earning less than $35,000 were struggling to pay for basic necessities like food, rent and health needs. Perhaps more surprising, nearly half of those in the $35,000 to $74,999 bracket also reported being in that same boat.
The state’s attempts to address its growing housing crisis may ultimately make life easier for lower income Californians, although that is a long, slow turn. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s planned expansion of Medi-Cal to essentially remove immigration-related barriers, meanwhile, will bring the state closer to offering at least some form of health care to almost all of its residents.
