Life in "Progress" State - California edition

Last night, I was venting my frustration to reader Tim about the media's overwhelming lack of interest in calling out failures in liberal run areas and how that compares to our national politics.

For instance, if the feds seized the total wealth of every billionaire in this country, it would wipe out the deficit for all of about a couple of weeks. It's not a revenue issue. This out of control spending will come to an end...... by choice or by force.

Medicare and Social Security cannot continue in theirs current states reform of some kind is needed yet they seem hell bent on portraying the guy with a plan as a some kind of senior killing thug as compared to the guy with absolutely no plan.

Why isn't someone challenging the case to the Obamunists that lefty policies don't, can't, or won't work and why aren't they doing something to correct that.

How many examples of failed liberal policies do you need before you answer the clue phone. We've got entire continents (the Euro zone) ready to implode from rampant deficit spending. We've got countries (PIIGS, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain). We've got Cities (Detroit and half the cities in California). Finally......... we have states...............

Most Californians live within about 50 miles of its majestic coastline — for good reason. The California coastline is blessed with arguably the most desirable climate on Earth, magnificent beaches, a backdrop of snow-capped mountains and natural harbors in San Diego, Long Beach and San Francisco. There is no mystery why California’s population and economy boomed after the Second World War.

The Golden State was aptly named. Its Gold Rush of 1849 was followed a century later by massive growth in the 1950s and 60s. Education in California became the envy of the world. Stanford became the Harvard of the West. A college education at the University of California and California State University systems was inexpensive. The Community College system that fed its universities was ostensibly free.

California’s public school system led the nation in innovation and almost all of its classrooms were new. The highway system that moved California’s automobile-driven commerce eliminated the need for public transportation systems like New York and Chicago. The fertile soil of the Central Valley became the breadbasket of the world.

The next golden wave in the 1980s grew from former orchards south of San Francisco known as Silicon Valley. Intel and other companies led the world’s computer and software revolution. In the 1990s, the dot-com revolution brought immense wealth to more Californians. Its innovators, Google, Apple and others, ushered in the Internet Era. The 2000s brought the greatest housing and mortgage boom in the nation’s history, with innovation centered in Orange County. California was truly the Golden State.

Why then would the author have the temerity to ask, “When did Californians become Stupid?” And: Is California the next Detroit?

Unique oblivion

Californians, due to their golden history, live in unique oblivion. When the Tea Party movement caused a political tsunami that swept more than 60 incumbents from political office in 2010, the wave petered out at California’s state line. There was no effect on the 2010 election that saw Democrats take every elected office in the state.

California voters rejected Meg Whitman, the billionaire founder of Ebay, in favor of Jerry Brown. Gov. Brown signed into law a “high-speed rail” bill that will spend $6 billion (the state does not have) to build a train between Fresno and Bakersfield — not Los Angeles and San Francisco, as promised.

Really an excellent, must read.............