Heard something interesting on Forum today. Warning: this has not been fact checked, but just noting it here for future reference.
Texas has more public employees than California
But has a smaller public budget than California
Because they pay their employees 30% less
They can afford to do this because housing prices are lower.
So the point here is, the key to getting more people employed is to lower housing cost.
Allowing home values to plumet is possibly good for improving employment rates.
Interesting. Must investigate this further.