Can the US learn from California?
23 Jun '09 15:472 editsHere is an interesting article about California
http://www.american.com/archive/2008/november-december-magazine/sundown-for-california/?searchterm=california
In the article the author searches for the downfall of the once great state. What donwfall you may ask other than their ballooning deficts? The once upwardly mobile state now ranks as the 15th highest in poverty rates in the nation. Only New York and the District of Columbia fare worst if the cost of living is factored in the mix. So where are they headed? Well if you look at the educational levels of those 65 or older who have an associates degree or higher, California ranks second in the nation, however, with the 25-34 age group, they rank to around 30th. Ouch!!
So what are we to learn from history if anything at all? The author seems to put the blame on the the decline of the states political culture. Although the society may be evolving spectacularly, the politics are devolving. The fall is fingered on the changing policy from investing in infrastructure, and strong nonpartisan involvment for that cause. It was a mixture of an advocation of civil rights and the promotion of business interests that made the state once shine. However, by the mid 60's, the traditional progressivism was being undermined by rising interest group liberalism as state employees and minorities began demanding more and more from their state government. Then as the state caved to these interest groups, the corporate perception was that the state was becoming ever increasing hostile to their goals and objectives. The real problems began to surface when Jerry Brown became governor as he backed away further from the traditional focus of nonpartisan governance and infrastructure spending in favor of being ever increasingly "environmentally friendly". Then the Democratic party became ever increasingly under the sway of narrow interest activist groups. In short, it seems as though california began to wage war on its own tax heavy economy. As pet social programs, entitlement, and state pensions soared the percent of money the state invested in infrastructure shrank from a once 20% level to only 3%. Of course, the terminator then later entered the picture to save the day once again, however, he ended up ceding the initiative for change to the left-leaning state legislature he once called, "girlie men". In fact, under Arnold the state budget actually grew even faster than his predecessor Gray Davis. So I guess that either makes Arnold, at best, a cross-dresser or, at worst, somene who seems to have had a sex change. LOL.
So having said that, is the US next?
http://www.american.com/archive/2008/november-december-magazine/sundown-for-california/?searchterm=california
In the article the author searches for the downfall of the once great state. What donwfall you may ask other than their ballooning deficts? The once upwardly mobile state now ranks as the 15th highest in poverty rates in the nation. Only New York and the District of Columbia fare worst if the cost of living is factored in the mix. So where are they headed? Well if you look at the educational levels of those 65 or older who have an associates degree or higher, California ranks second in the nation, however, with the 25-34 age group, they rank to around 30th. Ouch!!
So what are we to learn from history if anything at all? The author seems to put the blame on the the decline of the states political culture. Although the society may be evolving spectacularly, the politics are devolving. The fall is fingered on the changing policy from investing in infrastructure, and strong nonpartisan involvment for that cause. It was a mixture of an advocation of civil rights and the promotion of business interests that made the state once shine. However, by the mid 60's, the traditional progressivism was being undermined by rising interest group liberalism as state employees and minorities began demanding more and more from their state government. Then as the state caved to these interest groups, the corporate perception was that the state was becoming ever increasing hostile to their goals and objectives. The real problems began to surface when Jerry Brown became governor as he backed away further from the traditional focus of nonpartisan governance and infrastructure spending in favor of being ever increasingly "environmentally friendly". Then the Democratic party became ever increasingly under the sway of narrow interest activist groups. In short, it seems as though california began to wage war on its own tax heavy economy. As pet social programs, entitlement, and state pensions soared the percent of money the state invested in infrastructure shrank from a once 20% level to only 3%. Of course, the terminator then later entered the picture to save the day once again, however, he ended up ceding the initiative for change to the left-leaning state legislature he once called, "girlie men". In fact, under Arnold the state budget actually grew even faster than his predecessor Gray Davis. So I guess that either makes Arnold, at best, a cross-dresser or, at worst, somene who seems to have had a sex change. LOL.
So having said that, is the US next?
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