California’s sacrifice
Here’s a funny comment at Althouse’s from “bagho20:”
Out here in California, we have chosen to sacrifice ourselves. To continue with the experimental treatment even after it has made us seriously ill. We need to establish if the treatment is fatal when continued long term. We do this for the rest of you. Don’t let our sacrifice be in vain. Watch us and learn. Don’t turn your head, no matter how bad it gets. We regret that we have but one life to give for our country. Please visit us and put something in the tip jar. We live on that.
Here’s another treatment of what ails California, from Monty at Ace’s.
My own opinion about California and its effort to commit suicide is that it doesn’t see it that way. The state’s majority is composed of people living off the public till, and those who are proud of their magnanimous liberalism (sometimes the two rolled into one, sometimes not). Neither group cares to look where this is all headed, although it’s staring them in the face.
[ADDENDUM: Robin of Berkeley has some thoughts from the belly of the California beast.]
Well, I guess it means that some patients do not know that they are being experimented on.
I am a 5th generation native Californian, living in the Bay Area, with 3 Google employed households on my block. I am in some sort of shock over the election results. I see very bad things in California’s future.
We just re-elected the two most destructive and infuriating poles – Pelosi by 80%, and Boxer by 10%. The new Federal politicians are not likely to look kindly on what our state has inflicted on them. Our new state budget, 100 days late, admits of a 5.4 Billion shortfall, and plans on this deficit to be made up from some yet to be determined funding from the Federal Government. And of course, the 5.4 billion is hopelessly optimistic, the actual amount will be 15 billion.
My state has behaved like Greece, but I don’t think the Federal Government will behave like Germany in this case.
I know why San Francisco acts so foolishly – its a young adult theme park. When these people have kids, they grow up, move out, vote sensibly.
Thats not the case with the state. Maybe a critical mass is just stupid or ignorant. And selfish.
I watched the annual spectacle of college students protesting the latest funding cuts with amazement. They think that they deserve what their parents had, they think the society is shorting them. Their parents lived in a rich and successful society, and they are coming of age in a 3rd world society. Nobody told them that its all gone. They still think California leads the way, is the center of intellectual and cultural and scientific gravity. Its all gone. We are terminally, critical mass stupid. The rest of America, pay attention to this.
Meanwhile SF bans the Happy Meal to save the children.
cyclerider wrote, “My state has behaved like Greece”
I work in the belly of the beast in Sacramento.
When Gray Davis was governor the state employees did not attack him. When Arnold became governor – he was the devil. There is NEVER any responsibility laid at the feet of the legislature.
The court just ruled here that the legislature made the furlough’s possible and therefore Arnold’s furlough’s were legal.
The union turned around and wrote to the membership saying that Arnold acted illegally. I took the courts .pdf and emailed it to my girlfriend and she just said she didn’t have time to read it.
I said it shows Arnold acted legally and that the legislature had to and gave the green light.
In this state – it’s “facts be damned”. An entire populace has their head in the sand.
Look on the bright side. If weed had been legalized, it would have devastated the profit margins in the only growing industry in California. So at least there is some cash flow left.
As for a CA bailout, only with IMF style austerity measures in place first. We’ll get Chris Christie to consult.
Speaking as a Californian, if your folks send any money this way I will be very disappointed.
Like Harry Reid’s continuing and very public presence as the face of the Democratic left in the Senate, this has the potential to cause good things in the end.
Public sector unions under a Gov. Moonbeam administration are not going to see any reason to change their ways. If the fiscal future of the Golden State includes more taxes (and who can doubt it), then revenues will fall as the “rich” and business leaves for Texas.
As sure as day follows night, the state will set up camp outside of Congress’s door in hopes of a handout, but that door will now be closed to them. As California condition continues to decline after receiving the “drop dead” message, I expect it will become very fertile ground by 2012 for fiscal conservatives.
I really don’t think hitting bottom will work. The population that votes this way has been trained for generations to blame some Other for predictable results of self-foot-shooting.
So nothing bad that happens will be considered a result of their own actions. The perps–the elected ones, I mean–aren’t going to admit screwing up and the perps–the voters–aren’t smart enough to get past the conditioning that allows them to blame the Other in all situations.
Reality simply cannot break through.
It will take a demographic shift from the current population of nutcases, which, unfortunately, is going the other way. Smart people are leaving, increasing the proportion of nutcase voters.
Californians believe 2+2=5.
The attention span to see 1+1+1+1=4 isn’t there.
oooh ooooh I saw something shiny!
It’s strange how all those people in states like California and New York as so smart, but they can’t manage a budget while backwards states like Texas and Alabama always balance their budget.
The proper response to the demise of California and New York is to let them stew in their own juices.
Four decades ago I spent a year in Berserkeley as a hippie activist college dropout type. I viewed California as the Garden of Eden. I saw enough radical leftist insanity in Berserkeley to somewhat temper my political opinions- not that I didn’t see the same at the college campus I had fled. More of my political change occurred after I left California.
Any state that elects Brown and Boxer in 2010 deserves what it gets. There is some poetic justice to it. If the deluge arrived when a Republican were in the statehouse, the Pubs would be blamed. “Doncha remember how nice it was when the Demos were in power?” Better to have those responsible for the deluge to preside over it.
My prediction is that in five years time there will be some real estate in California at Texas prices. TX prices will rise as those flee California for TX. California prices will fall as people seek to take their real estate nest egg out of state. Unfortunately, some will be left holding the bag.
Mr Frank
Well, golly we here in California and them that lives in New York went to college so we are really smart.
Everyone knows that them what lives in Texas and Alabama are just hicks.
Hmmmm….somehow there appears to be a flaw in my argument. Cannot quite put my finger on it.
Let me get back to you on this.
Dennis Miller commented on his radio show that the election results in Calif. vs. most of the rest of the US make him feel like the water-tight doors in the damaged ship have closed but he is stuck on the wrong side of them. Any bailout of CA or NY would be like reopening those doors and condemning the rest of the ship.
From what I saw on CNBC tonight the bail out is likely to come from the Fed buying up municipal bonds from California cities. That would bypass Congress.
To continue with the experimental treatment even after it has made us seriously ill. We need to establish if the treatment is fatal when continued long term.
the Patient died and the operation was a success!
If California is bailed out I will vote against ANY incumbent in the very next election. Local or national office, GOP or Dem, it will not matter to me — that’s how strongly I feel about it. In fact, if ANY bailouts of ANY state occurs I will do the same.
I am sure that brinkmanship and bluffing will be tried by the fiscally reckless. I also suspect that “backdoor” methods of rescue may be attempted by the pols in DC. It must not be allowed to work. I do not want a cent of my money to go toward easing the idiots’ pain.
But how will the trash be collected, the water kept flowing, the power kept running, the schools kept open, the police force be maintained, etc., some will ask.
The government of any state or city that has allowed bankruptcy to occur(or to even come close to occurring) must be forced to collect the wherewithal to keep that state or city’s essential services running from those that reside in that state or city. Period. No exceptions.
And when push comes to shove (as it will), they’ll come to the rest of us, hat in hand, asking for a loan.
We need to tell them no. I suspect it’ll be otherwise.
And when push comes to shove (as it will), they’ll come to the rest of us, hat in hand, asking for a loan.
“Hat in hand”? I doubt that. More likely they will be DEMANDING not a “loan” but an outright gift if past behavior is any indication. They must be forced to find their own solution to their irresponsible behavior.
Slightly OT but who are the people in Mass 4th congressional district. They’ve yet again sent a loathsome creature like Barney Frank to another term in Congress. Frank, more than any other single person, is responsible for the current economic mess. And they return him to Congress?
JKB:
So that’s why Humboldt and Mendocino counties voted “No” on legalized pot!
“Hat in hand”? I doubt that. More likely they will be DEMANDING not a “loan” but an outright gift if past behavior is any indication.”
Grackle:
You’re darn tootin’! After all, we gave you our defense industry, our auto industry, our entertainment industry, our garment industry, our agriculture! CALIFORNIA DEMANDS REPARATIONS!
Sotto voce: Yes, I know we drove all those industries out of the state with excessive taxes and regulations, but those rednecks out in fly-over country are too dumb to realize that!
kaba:
Slightly OT but who are the people in Mass 4th congressional district. They’ve yet again sent a loathsome creature like Barney Frank to another term in Congress. Frank, more than any other single person, is responsible for the current economic mess. And they return him to Congress?
This is the state that blessed our nation with over seven decades of Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, both scoundrels who should have been sent packing within a term or two. Better said, both were scoundrels who in a saner state would never have been elected. While Massachusetts portrays itself as NOT CONSERVATIVE, in many ways Massachusetts is very set in its ways. That includes sending officials to DC until they have to be carted off.
Disclaimer: I have family in Massachusetts, and my brother’s wife is from there.
Gringo. I put Frank in second place.
First place is Schumer whose worried letter ref Indymac, Schumer having close friends in the business of picking up pieces of distressed banks, started the bank runs.
Be it ever so crumbly there is no place like rome
nero he was the emperor and the palace was his home
and he liked to play with matches, and for a pyre yearned……