Here’s my column on California’s budget and economic crisis for PajamasMedia from the weekend. My point:
“The good news: The budget stalemate, driven by endemic political problems and exacerbated by a hard-hit consumer-oriented economy, could signal a return to reality in this perennially unrealistic place. Newport Beach will never resemble Saginaw, Mich., but all of a sudden California is learning that, perhaps, there are consequences to decisions, that the California economy might actually enter into a severe recession, that state policies might result in a lower standard of living for all of us. Culturally, Californians already might be learning that owning a BMW and a million-dollar house might not be our birthright.”
I am a native of California and have never been too wealthy, but I do almost own my home on the Coast and I have driven a beat up pick up truck for many years.. I love California, but I don’t think that I have ever fit into the “unrealistic” expectations that have been a part of growing up in Orange County. I think the California is much more than acquiring wealth and making it rich. The state is quite beautiful whether your in N. California or S. California and of course the weather is great.
Over the years, I have seen boom and busts, but the state is definately changing and becoming a more expensive and complicated place to live.