Will Collier notes former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown’s famous tolerance for intellectual diversity:
Several years ago, upon being inaugurated as mayor of San Francisco, California uber-pol Willie Brown exulted, “The weather here is fine; there’s no snow and no Republicans.”
Doug Ross explores how that worked out:
| California | Texas | |
| Population Rank: | #1 | #2 |
| Joined the Union: | 1850, ceded by Mexico | 1845, ceded by Mexico |
| Hispanic Population: | About one-third | About one-third |
| Leadership over last 20 years: | Democrat, large government | GOP, small government |
| State legislature meets: | Year-round | Meets 90 days every two years |
| Net population change: | Outflow of 1,509,000 from 2000-2009 | Inflow of 1,600,000 from 2000-2009 |
| Average teacher salary: | $60,000/yr. | $41,744/yr. |
| ACT score rank: | #44 | #30 |
| 8th grade % proficient at writing rank: | #30 | #16 |
| 4th grade % proficient at math rank: | #26 | #16 |
| Tax Policy | 8.25% sales tax, up to 10.55% income tax | 6.25% sales tax, no income tax |
| Public sector unions: | Powerful. Spent $100,000,000 (in funds levied from taxpayers) defeating legislation that would weaken the Democrat-union alliance in 2005. | “Weak or non-existent”. |
| Bond Rating (an indicator of financial health) | S&P A- | S&P AA+ |
Based upon: Michael Barone, Washington Examiner.
Update: “California is likely to see modest job losses in the near term from its aggressive climate change policy due to higher energy costs and other factors, the state’s independent Legislative Analyst’s Office said.”
Add those “modest job losses” to the state’s “modest” 12.5 unemployment rate, approximately three percent higher than the national average, the latter of which, the Obama administration is “encouraged” by.
(Encouraged to do what, Rahm only knows.)
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