Why in the world would anyone still want to live in the state of California at this point? Residents of California have been forced to endure a brutally oppressive level of taxation for many years, and yet the state of California has still managed to find itself on the verge of bankruptcy. California Governor Jerry Brown declared a "fiscal emergency" in his state on Thursday, but nobody is even pretending that such a declaration is actually going to help matters. Brown wants to cut even deeper into the state budget (even after tens of billions have already been slashed out of it in recent years) and he wants to explore ways to raise even more revenue. Meanwhile, the standard of living in California is going right into the toilet. Housing values are plummeting. Unemployment has risen above 20 percent in many areas of the state. Crime and gang activity is on the rise even as police budgets are being hacked to the bone. The health care system is an absolute disaster. At this point California has the fewest emergency rooms per million people out of all 50 states. While all of this has been going on, the state legislature in Sacramento has been very busy passing hundreds of new laws that are mostly about promoting one radical agenda or another. The state government has become so radically anti-business that it is a wonder that any businesses have remained in the state. It seems like the moving vans never stop as an endless parade of businesses and families leave California as quickly as they can.
One of the only things keeping the population of California relatively stable at this point are the massive hordes of illegal immigrants that are constantly pouring into California cities. There are certain areas of major California cities that you simply do not ever want to go into anymore. In fact, there are rumors that the police will not even venture into certain areas anymore.
Traffic in California is a bigger nightmare than it ever has been before and the state cannot even keep up with repairing the roads and infrastructure that it already has. There are a few areas of California where you can still see the promise of greatness and the amazing natural beauty that once attracted tens of millions of Americans to the state, but they are few and far between now. At this point, most of the state is turning into one gigantic hellhole.
Perhaps the state could have some hope of turning things around if they had some solid leadership, but at this point the vast majority of the politicians in the state are pushing agendas that are so "radical" (not in a good way) and so "anti-American" that it is absolutely frightening.
Of course on top of everything else there is the constant threat of wildfires, mudslides and earthquakes. One day a really "big earthquake" is going to hit, and once that happens many people believe that the geography of the state of California could be permanently altered forever.
But what most people are focused on right now is the horrific financial condition that the state of California currently is in. Governor Brown recently summarized his analysis of California's financial condition with the following statement: "We've been living in fantasy land. It is much worse than I thought. I'm shocked."
Yes, things really are that bad in California.
The following are 22 facts about California that make you wonder why anyone would still want to live in that hellhole of a state....
#1 The California state government is facing a potential state budget deficit of 19 billion dollars this year, and California debt is rapidly approaching junk status. One way or another the taxpayers of California are going to have to pay for this mess somehow.
#2 California Governor Jerry Brown recently unveiled a "draconian" budget plan for 2011 that includes 12 billion dollars more in spending cuts and that maintains 12 billion dollars in recent tax increases.
#3 The state of California currently has the third highest state income tax in the nation: a 9.55% tax bracket at $47,055 and a 10.55% bracket at $1,000,000.
#4 California has the highest state sales tax rate in the nation by far at 8.25%. Indiana has the next highest at 7%.
#5 Residents of California pay the highest gasoline taxes (over 67 cents per gallon) in the United States.
#6 California had more foreclosure filings that any other U.S. state in 2010. The 546,669 total foreclosure filings during the year means that over 4 percent of all the housing units in the state of California received a foreclosure filing at some point during 2010.
#7 Home prices in some areas of California have completely fallen off a cliff. For example, the average home in Merced, California has declined in value by 63 percent over the past four years.
#8 725 new laws (most of them either completely pointless or completely stupid) went into effect in the state of California on January 1st.
#9 20 percent of the residents of Los Angeles County are now receiving public aid of one kind or another.
#10 The number of people unemployed in the state of California is approximately equal to the populations of Nevada, New Hampshire and Vermont combined.
#11 In some areas of California, the level of unemployment is absolutely nightmarish. For example, 24.3 percent of the residents of El Centro, California are now unemployed.
#12 Residents of California pay some of the highest electricity prices in the entire nation.
#13 The state of California ranks dead last out of all 50 states in the number of emergency rooms per million people.
#14 According to one survey, approximately 1 out of every 4 Californians under the age of 65 has absolutely no health insurance.
#15 At one point last year it was reported that in the area around Sacramento, California there was one closed business for every six that were still open.
#16 In the late 70s, California was number one in per-pupil spending on education, but now the state has fallen to 48th place.
#17 In one school district in California, children as young as five years old are being forced to watch propaganda films that tout the benefits of "alternative lifestyles", and parents are being told that no "opting out" will be permitted.
#18 The crime rate in the San Diego school system is escalating out of control. The following is what San Diego School Police Chief Don Braun recently told the press about the current situation....
"Violent crime in schools has risen 31 percent. Property crime has risen 12 percent. Weapons violations (have gone up) almost 8 percent."
#19 Oakland, California Police Chief Anthony Batts announced last year that due to severe budget cuts there are a number of crimes that his department will simply not be able to respond to any longer. The crimes that the Oakland police will no longer be responding to include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism.
#20 Things have gotten so bad in Stockton, California that the police union put up a billboard with the following message: "Welcome to the 2nd most dangerous city in California. Stop laying off cops."
#21 During one recent 23 year period, the state of California built 23 prisons but just one university.
#22 The farther you look into the future, the worse California's financial problems become. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, California's unfunded pension liability is estimated to be somewhere between $120 billion and $500 billion at this point.
So could the state of California actually go bankrupt?
In Washington D.C., some lawmakers are now working very hard behind the scenes to come up with a way to allow individual U.S. states to declare bankruptcy.
If something like that is worked out in Washington, then certainly the state of California would potentially be one of the first states to take advantage of it.
Unfortunately, the truth is that the state of California is a complete and total mess at this point, and not even bankruptcy is going to fix much.
The state has become a rotting, festering hellhole that is getting worse by the day. Yes, some really good people still live there, but there are some really, really good reasons why so many people are leaving the state in droves.
But perhaps you disagree. Does anyone want to state the case in favor of the state of California? Please feel free to express your opinion below....
@JF…First of all thank you for your service♥
I am a 50 yr. native born and raised in Cali (San Fernando Valley)residing in Tucson now.I watched our quite area turn completely hispanic. I have no problems integrating with anyone but, when my entire town statistically turned me into the minority by catering to illegal families with state subsidies (brought on by the 14th amendment) I was feeling a bit uneasy and decided it was time to go. There are no safe neighborhoods anymore due to the drug dealers who commit various other crimes without concern due to the states revolving door from Mexico. The average rent for an apt. is $1000.00 and this puts you in a 1 bdrm 1 bth where 5-8 illegals will be living under one roof.
The valley is trashed and I go back often but I see no end insight.
The reason Californias economy is as large as it is
is probably because 20% of the Fortune 500 companies
are there. It also has about one tenth of the population
of the U.S. so you would expect that it would represent
one tenth of the U.S. GDP which is about $14 trillion. Texas also has a little over 20% of the Fortune 500 companies and also has a large
economy. I think Texas and California account for about
a fourth of the total GDP of the U.S.
The revenues of the Fortune 500 companies combined is
about 11 trillion dollars. Walmart is #1 on the list
and it produces over 400 billion in revenue.
@Please Leave
I live in North Dakota and we have a massive budget surplus from oil profits. My in-laws live in California, so I spend a lot of time in your state. The quality of life is better here in Fargo and the people aren’t a$$holes like the ones in California.
Interesting list.
I understand the appeal of California. It IS beautiful country. At the same time, it is a nightmare to try and work there.
I was involved in a contract with the State of California and was an on the ground manager there. I dealt with the State people and the people we hired (mostly from there). Frankly, coming from the Midwest, I was expecting way too much from high school and even college graduates in terms of capability to write a coherent sentence to describe what they were seeing at a given location (one of the primary tasks of the job). The “drag this out” or (in NM terms, “Manana”) attitude of the workers was frustrating to say the least. The saddest part was, several of them WANTED to do better, they just didn’t know how, because the school never equipped them.
The state workers we dealt with were nice people, and no complaints over the level of service in our interfacing with them. (that was a wonderful surprise, by the way) However, what I was struck more than once by several of the people we dealt with who were 10 to 20 or more year veterans of the state, who, for vacation, went to the Himalayas to climb a mountain (and lived in very expensive area, and drove a very expensive vehicle) because they had retired, and then rehired, double dipping on their quite tidy salary…
I was offered a job out in LA, and it was quite good money (even for LA) but with all the turmoil I saw and felt under the surface, I decided to not pursue that and stay out here in the Midwest… not perfect, but at least the mindset of the people is more stable, and you don’t have to worry about getting gunned down if you go into the wrong neighborhood. (Or have police escort for your people while they are working!)
To me California is like the big gaudy house at the end of the cul-du-sac. They always throw the biggest parties and flaunt the newest and best stuff. Unfortunately, they live on their credit cards bragging about how great and smart they are; that is until the bills come due. Then they complain to the subdivision for help. What I want to know is how much of our prudent lives will be wasted helping the gaudy stay gaudy (while they still claim to be great and smart).
California is a great state with some great people; however, I would like to see them act like adults and clean up their own mess. My guess though is that we will be burdened with their bill.
Perhaps… just perhaps the reason people in other states do not take kindly to Californians moving to their state is that the second they DO move there they try and make OUR state like Cali. I experienced this in Oregon and there.. we had the attitude go the F*** back if you don’t like it here. They refused and stay and try to pass their bull off on others. Don’t come to my state from Cali or Michigan, New York, etc, and try to pas your crap here. We. Do. Not. Want It. Get that through your thick friggen skulls or stay there and fix your own damned problems. We will manage ours just fine without destroying our state thank you very much.
JF – You are more than welcome in Oregon, although the uber-liberal politics here have Oregon heading down the same road as California. But still, it’s much better than what you’ve described, especially in the smaller towns.
Love the article, and having family trapped down there (can’t sell their home to get away) I hear about how wretched it is. My sympathy to the good folks down there, and the rest can sleep in the horrific bed they’ve made for themselves (especially the politicians!!!).
The article said:
—————————
#16 In the late 70s, California was number one in per-pupil spending on education, but now the state has fallen to 48th place.
—————————
Considering that public schools are fiscally-irresponsible and waste money to an incredibly degree, being top on the list for per-pupil spending is nothing to brag about. In fact, I would say that the less the state pays per pupil is a better measure. Why should we pay top dollar for lousy government-run schools with their unionized teachers and bloated bureaucracies?
I’ve got eight years to retirement. I’m seriously looking at moving to a warm weather state with low taxes. The political stupidity here is staggering.
“Cali is pretty much hick-free, so we probably will stay here for the time being, thank you.”
I’m sorry to break this to you, but California is the world’s largest, richest trailer park. The entirety of the state is made up of nothing *but* trailer park people in high-end clothes.
It’s hilarious to me (in a very sad sort of way) that the only benefit of living in California that anyone can list is that the weather is nice. Really? That’s it? 22 perfectly legitimate reason to not live there were provided by the author and some of you try to counter-act all of those reason with “The weather is nice”? That show how pitifully out of touch you are with reality. Nevermind the fact that many parts of California are nearing third-world status, as long as the weather is nice. And for those who said “I love California. I lived in Santa Cruz,” you’re also missing the point. Of course there are some nice places to live in the state, but the state as a whole is in terrible shape. You’ve gotta look at the big picture, not just how convenient it was to live near the beach for a few months.
Oh, and to the people who claimed that Tennessee’s and Washington’s sales tax rates are higher than California’s, you’re combining state and local sales tax. Tennessee has a sales tax rate of 7% and Washington is 6.5%. Also, Tennessee has no income tax except on dividends and interest from investments. Washington has no income tax. California’s sales tax is 8.25% income tax is 9.3% at $45k. So a person making $45k in Cali pays a combined 17.55% in state income/sales tax, Tennessee residents pay 7% and Washington residents pay 6.5%.
And yet you claim taxes are higher in Washington and Tennessee? Do you people even know what you pay in taxes? Apparently you don’t, but that doesn’t stop you from arguing about it.
What happened to all of my “S”s?
Rob, they are talking state sales tax only; not combined state, city, county, local, etc.
>> Rob said: WA sales tax is 9.9%
No, it is NOT. The Washington State sales tax is 6.5%. If Your tax is higher than that, it is because the County and/or City you live in has added an ADDITIONAL sales tax on top of the State sales tax.
For example in Seattle:
State Sales and Use Tax .065
Local City/County Sales and Use Tax .030
Total tax rate .095
I love the Californians posting that they love living in crime infested hellholes because the weather is great.
It’s 70 degrees here in Orlando, FL and I don’t have to pay a state income tax
Enjoy getting reamed by your state government in Cali to pay for illegal immigrants on welfare.
Enjoy all the business leaving your state in droves.
Enjoy all the people leaving your state in droves.
I’m curious does physics apply to a perpetual machine, when that machine is government?
How does the state of California expect to pay the ever increasing government employees and their pensions if there is less and less business and population paying the taxes?? it’s like trying to lift yourself up in a bucket by using the handle.
I grew up in the suburbs of LA in the 60s and 70s. It was truly a great place to live then. I moved to Michigan at age 18 in 1979. I am so glad that I left. I am tired of the disgusting values that CA keeps shoving down the throats of the rest of the country, I am tired of Hollywood peddling their garbage. I believe that CA will become worse than a third world country very soon. I don’t see why my sister and her husband still live there! Californians = get out while you still can!
El:
Yes, and you just inadvertently revealed why the locals wherever it was you tried relocating treated you the way they did. Referring to California as being “hick-free” wouldn’t endear yourself to me either.
I’ll bet you were also complaining about how backward things were and exuding a sense of superiority when interacting with the locals. They also probably didn’t appreciate the inevitable suggestions on how they could improve their state coming from a person who had just moved from a place so screwed up and in which he probably had a hand in creating.
So tell you what, you stay in California. I’d rather not listen to you telling me what a great favor you’re doing me by moving to my state!
Calfornia-the answer to the question: what do you get when your biggest export is toxic culture, and your biggest import is foreign nationals who are intent on exploiting the system?
El,
Yes, we look at you and your license plates with suspicion and disgust. Spend as much time repudiating the damage your slimeball state has done to the rest of the country as you do denigrating us “hicks” for despising the influence you have had on our kids, and maybe you’ll get some damn respect.
Unions. All you people blaming the Mexicans are forgetting the unions. And unbridled liberalism. There’s a company in Grass Valley trying to reopen a gold mine in the gold country (gold at what, $1400 an ounce?) and has been denied permits for 7 years. Firefighters retiring at $284k a year! Look it up online. (Contra Costa County). That’s why the state is in an economic shithole.
Maybe San Andreas will come along and put these CA cretins out of their collective misery.
Californians, DON’T MOVE HERE. And I’m not going to say where HERE is.
El,
Why were you driving around with a California license plate if you had moved to another state? And how often did you go out of your way to tell people that you were from California? How many times a day did you say “Well, in California we….”
The very tone of your post reveals that you considered yourself better than the people around you… maybe that’s why they treated you the way they did.
There is a very easy remedy for this. Insist that Mexico take back California. A part of the deal would be that Mexico would have to take Hollywood with it. This solves 2 problems with one action
As someone who was born in Chicago, grew up in Orange County, California, and has lived in New York City (Manhattan), Denver, Atlanta, and New Jersey, I have to say that the best quality of life I’ve had is here in California.
After 9/11 we left NJ and moved to LA. I was thrilled to be back home. We’ve been here 8 years and we’ll never leave. I was more afraid in NYC and Atlanta than I’ve ever been here. New Jersey, NYC and Atlanta were so humid it made me sick. Denver was nice, but very “New Age”. The joke was if you ask your husband to pick up granola on his way home from work, he stops at the day care center.
I have had children in public schools in Atlanta, NJ and here. There has never been a time when they were made to watch something without a parents permission, ever. All of the school districts had pluses and minuses, but the bottom line is that had my kids graduated in Georgia, they’d be attending U of GA in Athens. Had they graduated in NJ, the state school is Rutgers. Here, they are at UCLA and Berkeley, two of the top universities in the WORLD.
We own a business and have been successful enough to open a second shop. We live in LA county, and many of our neighbors work in law enforcement.
Finally, it is true that the weather is a huge draw. I no longer spend hundreds of dollars on boots, mittens, winter coats, and scarves every year as the kids grow out of them. My cars don’t degrade from the salt poured on the roads to combat ice. I’m grateful my older kids don’t have to drive much in inclement weather. My lemon tree in the back yard is bursting and the sky is blue. Despite everything we’ve read here, California is still the land of dreams and opportunity. You just have to know where to look for it.
We lived in Cali back in the early 80′s and it was still a nice place. As Florida natives, we felt comfortable with the weather and the outdoor lifestyle. But we weren’t sad to leave because of the taxes, the traffic, and the social mores of the general population. Hard working, yes, but often shallow, narcissistic, and disconnected.
Cali folks truly don’t have a clear picture of how the rest of the country sees them, and to a large extent, they don’t care. That isn’t necessarily awful, but for some reason they don’t seem to grasp that the rest of the country is having a tough time with their own bills and cannot pay Cali’s now that they’ve come due. The US is undergoing a transformational time – we’re learning that there is a limit to how much we can have, how much we can spend, and how much we can pay for goods and services, including civil servants, housing, and other people’s pensions.
Most of us have a 401 or an IRA rather than a defined benefits pension. Simply put, civil servants should have what their employees (that’s us, you know) have – a savings plan of their own to which they and their employer contribute. Their own skin in the game, so to speak.
Cali is a lovely place and does have nice weather. So do many other places, especially the South. Cali doesn’t have a monopoly. And scenery doesn’t pay the bills.
I’m puzzled as to why some want to blame the government for letting in illegals. Ever ask why they stay once they arrive? Cause the benefits are so good. And that is squarely on your shoulders. Stop giving away so many goodies. If the freebies stop, they have no inducement to stick around. Wake up!
The reason we’re skeptical of former Californians is the logical conclusion you’ll try to establish the very government here that you’re running from. Sorry, but self preservation rules the day.
The big difference between California and Texas is Texas is run by Conservative Republicans and Ca. by left-wing radicals. Texas has some of the lowest taxes in the Nation and no state income tax and businesses are beating down the door to move here. Texas surpassed New York as the number one state with the most Fortune 500 companies. Texas also has a large deficit of about $9 billion but we have what is called a rainy day fund with $8.3 billion available if needed. Texas also has some of the lowest cost of living in the Nation and is the only State that had positive job creation last year, 600,000 new jobs.
Californication – the liberal minded venereal disease that looks, sounds and feels good at the onset but turns out to cost a lot more than you were told eventually leaving you with nothing but warts. Cali needs a massive dose of penicillin, and rehab to get the government off crack.
As a Cali-native (born and raised) and now in GA for 21+ years, I always tell people that the California I grew up in doesn’t exist anymore. I try and share stories of life as a kid and the fun things we did growing up, to my own boys and realize that they couldn’t enjoy those things today. Was I sad to leave/relocate 20 years ago? Sure…but would I ever want to move back (or heck, even visit now)? No friggin way…missing Malibu but nothing else. Well, maybe Carmel or the Central Coast…
Where was this “report” 30 years ago? Maybe if it had been published back then all the goofballs wouldn’t have crowded in and sucked up all the resources. They should’a locked the gate years ago.
Future headlines:
1 January 2015:
“CALIFORNIA SLIDES INTO THE PACIFIC.”
2 January 2015:
“PACIFIC GIVES CALIFORNIA BACK: “I can’t afford to keep it.”
OK, so California has a few minor negatives. But where else can a couple of gays get married and buy pot legally?
El’s comment about the “hicks” – presumably anyone not living in his holier-than-thou California – is so characteristic of the attitude of many Californians I have met.
Sure is funny if everyone is so “together” and sophisticated in California – the state with some of the most prestigious universities – how the state has become an utter dump and embarrassment to this great country!
Guess you and your liberal friends aren’t doing such a great job, are ya!
North Carolina tax rate is 7.75-8.25%. We have just voted a Republican super majority in our General Assembly since 1870. We will NOT become the east coast California. No government has EVER taxed itself into prosperity.
The only good thing about California is located in Simi Valley…The Reagan Library. The rest of the state is a hell hole!
I say they start closing the borders and go house to house and ship all the illegals back to where they came from. They have sucked this country dry.
The Budster: Sorry to break this to you, but Mexico has already taken back California…
I look forward to moving to CA soon.
I think of CA somewhat like Miami. I don’t really care for Miami that much ( last time I was there I had a .38 pulled on me ), but I love Miami Beach, especially South Beach. Great place, great people, great everything.
I’m hoping I like Malibu as much ( or more, I’m open ).
I’m bringing my business with me, that I can work over the Internet FUNDING Real Estate transactions ( When EVER you have your End Buyer in place, and need FUNDING, think of me FIRST! ~~~ BeTheBank101.com ~~~ Plus I hope to Joint Venture with others who have found deals and need the $ to close ).
I wouldn’t doubt that I make my 1st million there.
Enjoy, wopg.org peace and prosperity!
Jim
“The state of California ranks dead last out of all 50 states in the number of emergency rooms per million people.”
Mostly because many hospitals have either closed their emergency rooms or closed entirely. The number of deadbeats, especially here in the Coachella Valley (where it’s a short drive from the Mexican border), means that hospitals either have to wait for the state to reimburse them for mandated care, or suck it up.
Oh, and all you Cali-haters?
I love you, my fellow Americans.
Many of us live in California because we can’t afford to move. My husband and I were both born here, as were our parents. Citing all the reasons given why nobody should live here..our property values have tanked, education is a farce, etc., we can’t afford to just desert our house, pack up the car and drive off into the sunset with no financial reserves or resources. So we hang on to what we can, remember when life was easier and dig in for the long haul.
too bad its actually really really easy to move out of california seeing as to we have one of the highest cost of living. it would be really easy to find a $200,00 4 bedroom house in arizona or something. retard.
and if ur really from california, you would know that driving into the sunset would lead you to the pacific ocean…
I’m afraid I disagree, especially with the tone. It’s so easy to criticize one’s neighbor. And ignore the larger circumstances that create all this.
First, almost every other state is close behind. The red ink is flowing big time in WA and OR. Only North Dakota, with the only state owned bank in the nation, is in the black (http://www.banknd.nd.gov/).
Second, the article is full of exaggerations. For example:
“state legislature in Sacramento has been very busy passing hundreds of new laws that are mostly about promoting one radical agenda or another. The state government has become so radically anti-business that it is a wonder that any businesses have remained in the state”
And what would these radical laws be? AB 32, perhaps, that creates incentives for solar, and provides the beginning of a renewable energy economy, true economic recovery for CA, and the wherewithal to compete with China (who by the way, is beating the pants off us in this area)?
“the massive hordes of illegal immigrants that are constantly pouring into California cities”.
Some, yes. “massive hordes”, no – just an appeal to tea party emotionalism. And you can look to the Federal Gov. for the causes of this.
“the vast majority of the politicians in the state are pushing agendas that are so “radical” (not in a good way) and so “anti-American” that it is absolutely frightening.”
It’s easy to make claims like this when you don’t back them up with anything. If the use of the “radical” word were not enough, the use of the “anti-American” label is a giveaway. Appeal to emotion. Appeal to jingoism.
“Of course on top of everything else there is the constant threat of wildfires, mudslides and earthquakes. One day a really “big earthquake” is going to hit, and once that happens many people believe that the geography of the state of California could be permanently altered forever.”
O yea! This gotta be the clincher! You don’t get wildfires, mudslides or earthquakes anywhere else, but CA, right?
But, yes – things are really bad in California. Things are really bad in the U.S. of A.
The state started to go into the hole big-time when Enron defrauded it of billions by manipulating electricity prices through the roof. There was never any accountability, any payback for that. Then, of course, there was the massive fraud in lending that occurred at the highest banking levels, that lead the economy down the bubble path – and of course, the bubble bursting consequences. No accountability for that either – instead, massive, taxpayer funded bailouts for their risky behavior that will place generations of Americans in debt slavery, unless we default.
As for the list of facts. Much of the debt of the rest of the states are rapidly approcahing junk status, with increasing unemployment and falling RE prices. Where the bubble was greatest, the burst is greatest. Also, statistics which attempt to compare CA with others states on a raw number basis ignore the much greater population of CA. Only per-capita comparisons are valid. Ya, and some of those “radical bills” are designed to bring the cost of electricity down, and not subject to the price of foreign oil. And “alternative lifestyles” are what most of us are going to be living in 5-10 years, given the inexorable economic decline implied by off-shoring labor to China/India/etc, and by the peaking of oil/energy production worldwide. What this article refuses to acknowldge is the massive transformation the world, and especially the industrialized part, is going through because of peak oil and population overshoot.
There’s a real tendency now to find blame rather than understand both the huge forces at work, and how the very design of our economic system guarantees periodic booms and busts (and the FED just contributes). The current system is based on unrealistic, unlimited growth on a finite planet. With peak oil, global warming, ocean acidification, and population explosion, we are really running into those limits. It is based in a money system that charges interest on debt – mathematically, an exponentially increasing function – that will inevitably result in booms and busts. And it is based on a banking system whereby private bankers create money out of thin air to loan to everybody, including our governement, collecting the interest – and thereby insuring the few enrich themselves at the expense of the many. And when people start to get wind of it, they create wars to distract people and rake in still more.
Until we establish a real steady-state economy based on real ecosystem limits and renewable energy, and remove the exponential function from our economy (debt-based money), we are going to have these booms and busts, where the few are enriched at the expense of the many.
And finally:
“and not even bankruptcy is going to fix much. The state has become a rotting, festering hellhole that is getting worse by the day. Yes, some really good people still live there, but there are some really, really good reasons why so many people are leaving the state in droves.”
Bankruptcy will actually begin to fix things. The debt must be purged from the system – and the system rebooted on a sustainable basis, or it will all happen again. And as for the “rotting, festering hellhole” – well I’ve covered the use of language designed for emotional manipulation above.
I will have to say after growing up in caifornia since 1960 and then moving out in 2005 my family and I are much better off. We now have a paid for home on 11 acres a better paying job then in Cali and lower taxes and insurance. We can now afford vacations a couple time a year. Something we could hardly do when we lived in California. Now we just visit!
I have lived in California all my life. Let me concur with those who say that Northern California is a very different place than the south.
When people talk about our state, they seldom mention cities like Redding, Eureka, or even all that much about Sacramento. No no, California is defined by the Los Angeles basin and maybe San Francisco, you see. Oh, and the crappy economic climate in the San Joaquin valley.
Yes, those of us who live in the northern areas are getting dragged down by the fiscal insanity coming out of the state capitol, but our towns aren’t (yet) completely overrun by illegals and gang bangers. If you don’t count the pot gardens growing in our forests and mountains, it’s actually quite nice here. (I have been a hiker all my life and have yet to run across a pot garden. My guess is that they try to stay away from the established trails I’m hiking on. Fine with me.)
I also hear quite often that many other states – Michigan, New York, Illinois – have the same problems we do and then some. As bad as the economic climate is here, you can keep your Big Apple and your Detroit and your Chicago. You can also keep Cleveland. All the problems we have (mostly due to unchecked left-wing governance for decades, just like us) AND it’s bone-chilling cold. For that matter, I don’t relish the idea of living in a city like New Orleans, either. The Katrina debacle cured me of any desire to move down to Louisiana.
Aside from the high taxes, the prevailing left-wing nutball public opinion, the choking regulation, the outrageous cost of gas, the hordes of non-English-speaking immigrants (legal and otherwise, some of whom have lived here for 25 years and still don’t speak our language)…
…the only other thing that really irritates the hell out of me is our insane gun laws. “Assault weapons ban.” Really? An 11-round magazine turns a person into a cold-blooded murderer, so we’re going to restrict you to 10 on any semi-automatic rifle? What’s that, you say – the federal ATF has issued you a firearm collector’s license, but your state government presumes the right to refuse to recognize it?
What’s that – you can’t get a concealed carry permit unless you A) live in a rural county with a common-sense sheriff or B) have contributed to your sheriff’s re-election campaign? What’s that – a 10 day waiting period (and a $25 fee that you get to pay) to buy a rusty old bolt-action rifle made in the Soviet Union in 1943? In. Sane. Our state legislature also tried to tell us we can’t buy handgun ammo over the Internet (a court just spanked them on that and overturned the law) and as I speak, they’re trying to ban open-carry, having already made it next to impossible to carry concealed.
First they take away our right to defend our homes, then they tell us that due to budget cuts, the police aren’t coming and the courts won’t prosecute. Gee, I wonder what could possibly go wrong.
I’ve dreamed about up and moving, but where would I go? Nevada’s a dried-up wasteland with the same problems, Oregon is beautiful but has the same problems we do (or is trying hard to follow our lead) and I sure as hell am not moving to Texas. My entire family is here and I’ll have to tough it out a bit longer.
Thank You for saying what the majority is thinking…..:))
I’d like to state the case in favor of living in California…
First of all, um, well, uh, um… California Love, Gin and Juice, Katy Perry.
Ok, you got me. There’s no case to make in favor of staying in Killifornia.
I left LA in 2006. Sold four homes at the peak of the housing market; so, SoCal was good to me financially. With that said…it is a hellhole: crime, polution, traffic,…worst of all, I felt like a foreigner in your own country. Moved to the midwest and love the snow! I don’t even plan to return to visit.
Dear STEVE
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=91362%20-%20Thousand%20Oaks,%20CA&wuSelect=WEATHER
compared with….
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Fargo,%20North%20Dakota&wuSelect=WEATHER
The weather makes your home a F-ing jail for 8 months out of the year. Enough said.
I’d like to address one other point. People say that “the weather is nice” doesn’t make up for the serious drawbacks of living in California.
Weather isn’t everything, but it does count for something.
Hey, Midwesterners. Hey, Deep South. Hey, New England. Hey, northern Plains. Yeah, I’m talking to you people:
You can keep your hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, baseball-sized hail, floods, droughts, unbearable humidity, and snow on the ground from September through May.
California doesn’t deal with any of those maladies. THAT is why people rave about the weather here. Not to say its nice all the time…the valley gets well over 100 (though no real humidity, and we’re not Phoenix either) on a typical summer day, the Sierra regions still get heavy snows…and that’s about it. The whole state isn’t San Diego, but for the most part the winters are mild and the summers hot but bearable.
And before anyone says, “Yeah, well, California can keep its fires, mudslides, and riots,” know that the fires are pretty much confined to the mountain regions (there were a couple large urban fires in the Bay Area), and the other stuff to the southern regions. Up north…not so much.
We don’t even have earthquakes in northern Cali except for in the Bay area. There have, however, been two floods in my lifetime.
If I seem to be talking out of both sides of my mouth, it’s only because I wanted to rebut the point about weather. Other than that…what the original columnist said. Still, the state isn’t a “hellhole.” 40 million of us still live here, and not everyone is an immigrant.
I live in NH and I do not have snow from Sept to May. I also have no income tax nor sales tax.
Our state budget is now a litte heavy due to 4 yrs of democrat rule but they are all gone now and things are looking up.
All the states run by democrats over the yrs, now facing bankrupcy, we are doing great. After living and working in Wa., NY state and Mass. I would not want to live anywhere else, especially California. PS: Our first snow happened in Jan. not Sept.
I was born and raised in CA, lived in northern CA for 38 years, kept moving farther north until I finally moved out of state in ’87 and it was a wonderful place back then. Went back for a few years in 2002 even farther north and couldn’t take it. State govt is on mushrooms!
But I do go back to visit all of my family who are still there. I worry about them and even more so now that Jerry Brown is saying it is worse than he thought? What’s he on these days? Did he not study the state affairs before running for 2nd time? Now I hear he wants to close down some prisons which I hope he only lets the petty criminals out and not the really mean ones. Kinda like Reagan did with the mental institutions when he was guvna. And then painted all the lines yellow so they could follow the yellow brick road…out of CA.
I moved to CO and believe me it’s not much better. Gangs are out of control. Many subsidized foreigners brought in to work in meat factories or to just breed if that’s what they want. Crazy fights here too but I am in rural area so not as bad but theft is up, cops out of control or being killed by someone gone crazy, suicides going on as the paper prints “Oil and Gas Industry Booming” which is bringing more here, Denver is sanctuary city..the list is long here too but now people flooding here for work that is not happening. My husband works in gas industry and hardly any work for him right now so I don’t know why papers are saying this. It seems to be mostly smoke and mirrors but I tell ya what we do have. A super prison with that crazy Al-Queda guy who got waterboarded by G.W. Bush and the shoe bomber and Terry Nichols OKC bomber accomplice and who knows what other idiot. Then all the bank robberies, thieves breaking into homes while stay at home moms are home, or just knocking on the door with a gun. Kids going nuts do to the entitlement era and who knows, maybe the air and water. Then there’s military everywhere!! So think hard before coming to CO for work. It also stinks like cow poop and they call it the smell of money.
I never thought I would have a sign on my front door that says “No Trespassing, No Soliciting, Violators will be shot and survivors will be shot again.” That’s what we do here when we’ve been robbed. Good thing I’m one of those peace loving hippies from CA!
UPGEYA…really?
I live in the most northern part of Cali..we most certainly do have EARTHQuakes! I have been in 4 up here..those are only the ones felt.
I was born in Long Beach, back when it was a beautiful safe area..I was raised in the Bay Area…I went to college in Southern CA..so I know my STATE!
The Liberal Agenda has all but destroyed this once GREAT STATE…there is NO disputing the FACT’s..their agenda= Big Govt, Big Brother..and TAX and Spend!!
WE have a serious problem with Illegal’s it is destroying our State…when I went to school we had all kinds of programs and a good education. With the billions that are being sucked by the illegal’s this is no longer a reality in this state.
Fact: Stockton..2nd highest crime rate…% mostly hispaninc/illegals
Fact: San JOse…Illega’s
Fact: Van Nuy’s CA, where I lived for 2years..I was surrounded 4blk either direction at that time by mexican’s..no English…when I went to the local Von’s I was the only white person on any given day shopping…everyone around me spoke Spanish (this was 20yrs ago)…our Street was primarly White/Asian and was clean and kept up (by us the working residents’)..the surrounding streets were filthy and disgusting!!!
Fact: Santa Rosa, CA..being taken over by hispanic…property values declined even before the housing bubble due to illegal’s..my sister lost over 100,000 in equity because her once beautiful neighborhood was destroyed by ILLEGAL’s..4 families to a home, loans forced by the gov. under FREDDIE/FAnnie..under the absolute direction of the Democratic COnGRESS ordering them to fund loans!!!! She couldn’t come home after dark because of violent threats by gang banger neighbors..she was forced out!!!
This is the general theme of all neighboorhoods and cities that the Illegal’s get their foot in the door. Have you ever been to Mexico? And I don’t mean a resort..I mean Mexico…filthy dirty..NO PRIDE…this is the people we get…they don’t want them either..Their President has the nerve to stand in our Congress and condem us for following our LAW’s, when the law’s to migrate to Mexico are harder and if you get caught there, you go to Jail. NO service’s there for Illegal’s, unless you like the service in Jail. You have to prove you are going to produce an income (have money in the bank, ect.) Not here…our liberal loon’s are just giving these people enough to get them elected and hoping their volumes tip the scales for all future elections…this is very dangerous and will hit critical mass at some point. This is why they want to take our gun’s away..
California is loosing 1000′s of business a year, either moving or closing. We own 3 business’s and have 20+ employee’s. We are moving…sadly this will cost 13 job’s in CA and less Tax revenue, not only from us but those lost job’s (we are only selling one of our business’s and that two will cut 2more job’s)….less money spent in our community and less money for the STATE. The elected officials don’t get it, truly stupid people. When large corporations move to other states because they can do better, this should have been CA first clue.
Two years ago the State was short on expected revenue..people moving out…again last year..people and business’s moving out…and this year I expect the whopper of all unexpected shortfalls to hit this STATE…thus forcing SAc to finally wake up…sadly the turn around will be to many years for us. I do believe the Illegal situation is also coming to a head. CA is going to be forced to stop the flow and stop benefits with all the REAL Tax money leaving the state they will have no choice. I have written many letters to State leg, Gov. and controller expressing my/friends concerns…I suggest everyone take the time to write letters, sign pettion’s and get involved. Those of you who are staying…watch out..it’s going to be hell!
How old is this article? It says Jerry Brown is the Governor…
Realityseeker: You do know that Jerry Brown was just elected governor in November 2010, right? Don’t confuse his current term with the one he served between 1978-1982 or so.
i believe california is on the fast track to nowhere,but being a resident of illinois,believe me we are NOT far behind.in many cities we already have 8.25% sales tax,they just raised our income tax,cops are being laid off,we are VERY friendly towards illegals,gun control is still rampant,and we are going broke!as many of my west coast brothers and sisters my wife and i simply cannot aford to move.welcome to the 21st century!
Big problem in California is the rich people that live in gated communities and have access to huge amounts of money—and imagine if all the poorer folks would just not be so stingy and share their wealth–why all would be well.
Anytime the people– as in USA— lose sight of being in the world is not the same as being empowered by the world
You can plainly see that the world is on the verge of bankruptcy and the rich folk want it divided up differently
All of the common folk will receive equal portions of the world’s wealth—includes universal health care and equal wages.
The rick folk and their friends are, naturally, not in the equation which deals with the common folk
It sounds as secure future of no failure–and also no successes–just a future of unchanging mediocrity
The common folk will work on schedule until they reach retirement age–at which time–they will not be allowed to work as it takes away from those who produce–and the elderly non producers eat away at the savings which go to support non procers and these savings could be put to better use
The useless eaters are the first to sacrifice for the welfare of others—Euthenasia is the thingto do for the good of the fatherland—or the mother earth—
California can’t solve the problem in their lap–they SURE CAN’T SOLVE ANYBODY ELSE’S PROBLEMS
THE CENTRAL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS NOT ABLE TO SOLVE THE CURRENT PROBLEM UNLESS THEY REDUCE THEIR FUNCTION–OR IT’S FUNCTION.
I lived and worked in San Francisco,and CA,for almost 30 years;I had to get out,especially when I had to retire.
I remember what northern CA was like;Concord,Contra Costa County,was invaded by so many foreigners,who did not speak English.Even in our condo,it was that way;it was “white flight”,and all the older,white people moved away.It was too expensive,the electricity blacked out constantly;no one was friendly.Everyone was “on the prowl”for careers,and work,that was it.No one talked to each other,they were all paranoid.
Everyone sold their homes,and split for other states.It was a mass evacuation.I did not go,till the end,about 4 years ago.Northern CA had so many illegal migrants,they were everywhere,my Hispanic friend told me,gangs,dangerous,came over the border,and now lived in north CA.Yes,all the white people left.
We did feel like we were invaded,for sure.They had mass,huge parades,covering all of the main highway,and they were so loud,you could hear them from miles away.Man,they were angry,and agressive!These were illegal aliens,who were demanding jobs,rights,and everything else.No matter what any Liberal said,the north CA was being taken over by illegal aliens.That,and very rich people.So,everyone else left.
I went back to my home state of Oregon;people were friendly,said hello,talked to you,and were not snobs.It was so different than North CA,I wish I had come back home years ago.I realize how unfriendly and snobby CA had been,which was why it was so hard to make friends. ****** It seemed like New York City,with sunshine!!(To tell the truth,outside of SF,it was way too hot,I was sick of it.)Yeah, 108 F.in the shade.
You can have CA;everyone thinks they are better than everyone else,are unfriendly,snobby,and self centered and arrogant;I’m so glad I left,yes,I wish I had left years before.Oregon is very poor,but the people are a lot nicer,human,and like to make friends.You do not have to be rich,important to be someone, in Oregon.It has many faults,but it’s so much saner than CA.And,there is much more community in Oregon.
Unfortunately,a lot of New Yorkers and Californians have also moved to Oregon,en mass,and it’s very crowded now.We had to fight,pass laws,to keep big developers out,to avoid converting Oregon into subdivisions and concrete,like CA did.
My sister still lives in Berkeley,but how she affords it,I do not know.She’s stuck on how important CA is,so she can have all it’s problems.They live in a black slum,with drug dealers,ect.,cause otherwise,the rent is too expensive.I live in a pretty nice neighborhood,and I like mine.No,if I had the chance,I would not go back again.I stayed way too long.
Yeah, I agree that CA has become a Hellhole; years ago,it used to be great.Not now.Now,it is Hell,and it’s also a huge rat race.That’s why i left.
So Ca is the most beautiful place to live. I’ve lived here since the early 1970. It has gotten over populated & expensive but that’s because it’s a desirable place to live. You get what you pay for so if you want to live cheap the place will probably be undesirable. I grew up back east & wouldn’t want to deal with the weather, negative people,& boredom
I’ve also lived overseas & found there is nothing that comes close to So Ca
I worked really hard for years to be able to buy my own condo, and now I am surrounded by neighbors on welfare because they are entitled to live in a middle-class neighborhood. Now when I go to work so I can pay their rent, they are at home robbing our condos. CA sucks.
stupid article-wellcome to russia for