The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

California had it all! 50 years ago it was the place! Abundant energy, reasonable taxes, superb public and private universities, a sane state government, and an entrepreneurial spirit that was incredible. If you had a great idea...you went to California to see whether it would work!

Add in the absolutely spectacular physical beauty of the state, an incredible variety of leisure activities, a vibrant agricultural tradition that produced fantastic food (and fed America to boot), California Girls, and what's not to love?

But there were clouds on the horizon. Jerry Brown had just been elected governor, and while he was fiscally prudent, he began California's long slide into 3rd World status. Environmental regulations, lunatic judges, and a governing style that was eerily reminiscent of socialism rather than California's traditional free-market tone. The Dead Kennedys nailed it,* even if they didn't understand what they were saying.

The next governors were much better, but the structure of an all-encompassing government had been built. Immigration became an issue, as the Reagan compromise with the Democrats of the 1980s was a catastrophe, and California was flooded with an unsustainable number of poor...and poorly educated...illegal and legal immigrants who overwhelmed the state's social net.

The 21st century ushered in a horrid series of governors that catered to the worst excesses of the welfare state, with the monstrous expense of impossible environmental and building regulations that drove housing to unimaginable prices.

And the fabulous wealth and industry of California was still churning out enough money to fund the insanity, but how long could that last?

Well, we have the answer to that question, and from none other than the estimable Victor Davis Hanson.

California and Its Collapsing Blue-State Democrat Model

One percent of Californians pay well over 50 percent of the state’s income taxes—and is leaving in droves. Power is exorbitant, in part due to inefficient solar/wind/green mandates, restrictions on oil, natural gas, nuclear energy, and new hydroelectric production.

In addition, some 4 million—or nearly 25 percent of utility users—simply no longer pay their monthly power bills and are yet usually not subject to cutoffs of power. They in turn must be subsidized by a shrinking number whose rates climb almost yearly.

In the grand scheme, California should be allowed to fail, and the voters (or whoever is actually casting those votes) should suffer the consequences of their stupidity. California going bankrupt would be a huge shock to our financial system, but it would emerge stronger on the other side, and California would be forced into a period of fiscal responsibility that would go a long way to correcting the damage done by the Democrat juggernaut (I count Schwarzenegger as a Democrat) that has controlled California for 25 years.

Except... the very policies that California forcefully rejects may very well save it from itself. President Trump is busily repairing the damage done by the Obama/Biden/GOPe junta that was driving the entire country into insolvency and cultural rot. California is fighting Donald Trump and his merry band of cabinet officials at every turn, but they will ultimately prevail, and the economy and culture of California will be saved from its own excesses. Maybe not permanently, because the entire state is built on an unsustainable model, and shifting to a sane government structure will require the pain and suffering of a default and a total re-imagining of the state's relationship with its citizens and its resources.

It will be very interesting to observe a temporary resurgence in the Golden State that is entirely the result of MAGA.

I wonder how Governor hair gel will explain it away?

* They played in my student co-op's dining room. Good show!
[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter]

posted by CBD at 11:00 AM

| Access Comments