Can California Be Saved?

[Offensive Threat]

okay, I was making this stuff up.  It's rather scary really, that the real science people thought of actually doing this.  There are some crazy people out there, with incredibly stupid ideas.  

 Saudi Arabia has done extensive studies to see if towing an iceberg to them would work as well. They gave up on the idea early on as well.

[Electro Rock]

The referendum system is a big part of what's killing California,.

Californians regularly vote themselves expensive services and then vote down tax increases with which to pay for them.

Or turn down needed things like new powerplants because NIMBYism and pretentious reasons.

[Dedalus]

I would say there are some solutions already in action.  California has an opportunity to show real initiative and leadership towards solving these problems that will affect us all.  Good luck to them.

I'm going to assume you are trolling. Thanks for the laugh.

[Dedalus]

Anyway, as if the dreadness needed more elaboration, here's another article written two days later by another writer.

My Dark California Dream: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/opinion/sunday/my-dark-california-dream.html

Like this article suggests, the people who think California is prospering and is still amazing are tech guys and entrepreneurs, "those living the most obvious new California dream, the technology gold rush."

[TOMapleLaughs]

I'm going to assume you are trolling. Thanks for the laugh.

No actually I wasn't.  I'm wondering if you are though.

[Dedalus]

No actually I wasn't.  I'm wondering if you are though.

How many of those articles did you actually read? I read three at random and found no solutions. Plus, if I recall correctly, two of those articles are about Canada and California gets a passing mention.

[TOMapleLaughs]

How many of those articles did you actually read? I read three at random and found no solutions. Plus, if I recall correctly, two of those articles are about Canada and California gets a passing mention.

You would be surprised.  They're are full of solutions, so I suggest reading further.

Anyway, while the problems are there, so are solutions.  All we can do is put faith in the approaches being taken, fund them, and hope for the best.

[Kragar]

The referendum system is a big part of what's killing California,.

Californians regularly vote themselves expensive services and then vote down tax increases with which to pay for them.

Or turn down needed things like new powerplants because NIMBYism and pretentious reasons.

Yeah, Propositions (the referendum system) are kinda odd.  When I first moved here, I thought the concept was a little interesting, giving a little more power to the citizenry, as laws can be proposed and voted on by the people.  It can be a good way to get important proposals on the table when a politician may not want to put his name on it for political reasons.  The downside are bond issues.

It comes down to an abuse of deficit spending where the people vote on whether to borrow money to pay for some program, without having any real knowledge about the state budget.  Most common are the bonds to support schools.  I mean, you gotta do it for the kids, right???  These seem to pass unfailingly.  And with the scorecard on education here being sketchy already, the bonds always pass.  

What's the point of electing representation when we also choose to direct some of the spending, outside of the budget?