The Brutal Truth About Californians

Blogged earlier today about California’s budget woes, and Evil Red Scandi commented with a tale that’ll make your stomach sink down to your shoes:

California is screwed. I came to this conclusion yesterday. And that sucks, because I live here.

Here’s the story:

I was at a luncheon the other day with the State Controller of California (the guy who cuts the checks) speaking. He actually seemed to be a pretty stand-up guy. He was careful not to say anything too politically damaging, but he was completely up-front about that issues facing the state.

Here’s the really scary thing: he asked the group how many people would be willing to cut spending in the following areas: Education, Health Care assistance, and Prisons? These areas comprise 92% of California’s budget, so any meaningful cuts would have to touch them. I was the ONLY person in the room that raised their hand for all three. And without naming names, this was one of the most conservative groups of people you could get into a room (at least in Cali).

If people don’t even have the guts to raise their hands in a room full of as like-minded a bunch as you’re going to find, how on earth do they expect their politicians to do anything?

I suspect California’s not the only place like this

I’m trying to picture a scenario where the State of California doesn’t end up before a bankruptcy judge. If you think that’s bad, remember that if that happens, you’ll have an unelected judge making California’s budget decisions.

And if you think that’s bad… the California electorate’s taste for endless government got the state into this mess — and who elected them?