Tech Layoffs and Studio Cutbacks Threaten California's Economy.

California's economy, which outranks most countries, is struggling as major industries such as tech and entertainment have been hit by high interest rates, investor skittishness, labor strife, and other turmoil. Thousands of Californians have been laid off, and the state's $100 billion surplus has turned into a $22.5 billion deficit. The state's tax structure, which relies on taxing the incomes of the wealthiest Californians, often translates into dips when Silicon Valley and Wall Street are uneasy. The state's robust supply chain, which drives nearly a third of the state's economy, has also continued to buckle under stresses from the pandemic and an ongoing labor fight between longshoremen and port operators up and down the West Coast.