How's liberalism working for California?

They called it paradise
I don't know why
Somebody laid the mountains low
While the town got high

So just how wonderful is life in one of those "progressive"states like California; probably the hot bed for all things liberal.....

California's increasingly severe and largely self-inflicted economic crisis will deepen on May 19 if, as is probable and desirable, voters reject most of the ballot measures that were drafted as part of a "solution" to the state's budget deficit. They would make matters worse. National economic revival is being impeded because one-eighth of the nation's population lives in a state that is driving itself into permanent stagnation. California's perennial boast -- that it is the incubator of America's future -- now has an increasingly dark urgency.

Under Arnold Schwarzenegger, the best governor the states contiguous to California have ever had, people and businesses have been relocating in those states. For four consecutive years, more Americans have moved out of California than have moved in. California's business costs are more than 20 percent higher than the average state's. In the last decade, net out-migration of Americans has been 1.4 million. California is exporting talent while importing Mexico's poverty. The latter is not California's fault; the former is.

If, since 1990, state spending increases had been held to the inflation rate plus population growth, the state would have a $15 billion surplus instead of a $42 billion budget deficit, which is larger than the budgets of all but 10 states. Since 1990, the number of state employees has increased by more than a third. In Schwarzenegger's less than six years as governor, per capita government spending, adjusted for inflation, has increased nearly 20 percent.

As I always say, I'm not the smartest guy in the world but I always watch what the smart guys do.... and emulate. Conversely, I watch what derelicts do in the world and I try not to imitate those things.

Do you think there might be some elected official out there that might look at California or Michigan and say "Geez things aren't working so well for them, maybe we should do the opposite"? I guess that would be asking too much.

Now my liberal buddies like Eric love to drop in a snark whenever Obama does something Bush would have done. But you never see them comment whenever I challenge them to this question.

Name one place that liberals run that provides a better standard of living than anything conservatives run?

I wait for your silence.

More George Will.......