In some spots, I have inflected my own personal opinions...
California is a failed liberal experiment.
Liberalism, which clings to the childlike belief in the free lunch, has wrecked this once great state. California: the land of energy, agriculture, and a treasure trove of brilliant human capital is now collapsing in upon itself, straining under the weight of a staggering $40 billion+ deficit.
In Homage to Catalonia, a personal narrative of his participation in the Spanish Civil War, Orwell marveled at the ability of Marxists (aka: COMMUNISTS) to reduce to a state of filth and chaos any building which they occupied. And like Orwell, Americans may now marvel at the state of filth and fiscal chaos liberal Democrats reduce almost any state or municipality THEY occupy. From Detroit to Chicago, and from Massachusetts to California... Only liberalism could bring THE WORLDS' SIX LARGEST ECONOMY (California) to it's knees in one generation.
As an unfortunate resident of California, I take no glee in pointing this out. California once embodied America and our optimistic, expansionist ideals. But no longer. This collapsed welfare state is exhibit A in the gallery of liberalisms failures. Of course, the New York Times and a yapping chorus of progressive apologists don't see things this way. So who's to blame, according to left? Why Republicans, of course! The following is from The New York Times, liberalisms toilet paper of record:
"The roots of California’s inability to address its budget woes are statutory and political. The state, unlike most others, requires a two-thirds majority vote in the legislature to pass budgets and tax increases. And its process for creating voter initiatives hamstrings the budget process by directing money for some programs while depriving others of cash. "
For months Republicans in the California Assembly and Senate have vowed not to raise taxes. In California this means no increase in the sales, gasoline, cigarette, utilities, vehicle license, personal income tax, or and other the other myriad of "taxes".
The American Prospect pushes the liberal line even further: Proposition 13 (from the late 1970's) and the ensuing property tax hikes wrecked the state by raising the rate from 1% to 3.5%, a rate which devestated senior homeowners living on fixed incomes and led to an artificial housing crisis. So there we have it: A state completely run by free-spending liberal Democrats at every level collapses and the Republicans are to blame.
Wayne Allyn Root throws a bucket of cold water on this nonsense:
"The good news is that California leads the nation. The bad news is that California leads the nation in deficit, debt and the amount of residents escaping to other states."
Just a few ways in which California "leads" the nation...
*California leads the country in spending on government employees.
*California spends twice as much as the national average per student on education (with dismal results).
*California spends almost $200 million per year on free college educations for illegal immigrants (no, that's not a typo).
*California has the most draconian anti-business rules and regulations in the nation. That forces businesses to spend too much. The result is that California is the most costly place in America to do business (according to the Milken Institutes business cost index).
*California is heaven for trial lawyers and hell for small businesses. That could be why so many major employers have left the state (according to Investor's Business Daily).
*California has the second highest income tax rates in all of America. And it is among the nation's leaders in virtually every tax category possible- income taxes, business taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, taxes on real estate transactions, taxes on stock transactions, capital gains taxes, workers compensation taxes, the list is endless. Behold the Fruits of Rampant Liberalism!
* Record breaking debt and junk bond rating. Highest debt ever for any state in the history of the nation.
* Job growth 20% lower than the nation. But it's not just any jobs that California is losing. According to the California Manufacturers and Technology Association, the state has lost 440,000 high-wage jobs.
* 3rd highest unemployment rate in the nation, but many believe it will SOON be #1.
* Reverse Gold Rush: Last year, over 144,000 more people left California than moved in. That EASILY led the nation. This was the fourth straight year of "out-migration". Liberals can try to refute this, but the facts are clear, and Californian refugees are voting with their feet. That 144,000 number seems oddly familiar...
If President Obama and the liberal Democrats in Congress have their way, soon we'll be saying: We're all Californians now.
