Stupid legislature kicks effigy of legislature
Stupid voters kicks self
Right. Because if you’re not white, there’s no way you could be racist.
AT great sacrifice, it must be noted! Because its cold! Goddam cold, bitterly cold. And ice spiders! One of them gets you, you’re a goner, fer sure, you betcha! Besides, Californians who move to MN are subject to widespread derision and social ostracization. And find a good, inexpensive domestic chardonnay? Forget it! Iowa! Iowa is nice! Move to Iowa!
(Mean, whatsamatta you!? You want caravans of Califorkies trekking across the wasteland to Bemidji? Duh Range? There is only one thing the rest of the country knows about MN, and that is that its fucking cold! Stay away, don’t move here! And that’s all they need to know…)
These points are only minor and are only an issue because of the current economic situation. The real problem with California is our government is structurally decrepit. Even if the economic problems disappeared in a cloud of federal bailouts, we’d still have a broken government.
Well… I was sick of California, but I also wanted to move to another state that elects action heroes as governor. So here we are.
Oh, and it’s only cold 8 months out of the year.
Except for Senate elections.
Maybe the initiative system could be amended, to include the funding. If you vote for something new, your vote also extends to the vote to raise the revenue for it. Is that achievable?
I don’t understand the voter initiative thing. And I’ve been here 15 years. Does any other state pull this shit?
Just one thing that sucks about it is that it’s almost impossible to get decent, semi-unbiased information on them. I always end up not voting on half of them or more just because I can’t trust the information I managed to dig up on them.
Fuck Prop 13. Fuck Prop 4. Fuck Prop 36 for that matter.
Fuck a state that thinks it’s cool to have a movie star for a governor.
Also, fuck the fact that it hasn’t yet gotten up to 55 at night, insuring another shitty tomato season. Goddamn California weather anyway…
Fuck Prop H8, for THAT matter.
Michigan has initiatives. Not as many, and not on the scale that California does, though. I’m sure other states do, too.
I don’t miss California at all. It bewilders my parents, who have never lived anywhere else in their lives that I a. left and b. have no intention to return.
Not that Michigan is an improvement in functional politics, mind you. But no one here claims to live in THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH, which is what lots of delusional Californians seem to believe.
If you’ll read my post for comprehension, you’ll note that I did not accuse you, specifically, of racism. Nothing you wrote appears to me to be racist. I merely pointed out that racism is a common element of anti-illegal-immigrant debates, which it is.
Second, what do you mean you are “ethnic?” I’m ethnic, too. So is every human on the planet.
Third, border patrol comes into it because illegal immigrants are here, and the state has no power to change that. Ergo, it has two options: give them services, or deny them services. I merely pointed out that there are costs to both scenarios. Your scenario, in my analysis, has short-term benefits and long-term costs. The current scenario is obviously not working for anybody, so yours might be an improvement, but I argue that it is in everyone’s interests to make sure that all Californians are healthy, educated, and employed. You obviously disagree. Fine.
ethnic = likes spicy food
Here’s a list of all fifty states and their per capita overall state and local tax rates, which, if I understand it correctly, includes sales, income, and property taxes. Note that this ranks states on a per capita basis, rather than as a function of income.
Your link does not say what you think it means. Having a high maximum income tax rate doesn’t necessarily correlate with a having a high tax burden on the majority of people.
I’ve lived here all my life, and I’m not delusional enough to claim it’s The Best Place on Earth. It has a wonderful geographical diversity and natural beauty, and the weather may be darn near perfect. But there’s more to life than that.
Anyhoo…Fellow Californians, how do we fix this? Do we march on Sacramento with torches and pitchforks and demand a constitutional convention?
Dude! You totally made me spit out my soda! WARN us before that type of joke! 
See, on a per capita basis, high taxes in California wouldn’t be a surprise. High property values, combined with a higher than average (for the nation) turnover rate in property sales (Californians don’t stay put for decades, usually), make for some high dollar value property taxes. The property tax on the $1.6 million 1700 sq. ft. homes in San Clemente I saw two years ago (of which there were a gazillion, mind you) would start at $16,000 per year, roughly. Of course, from year to year, no matter how fast the value of your property goes up, the taxes can only increase at the rate of 2%. So in ten years, when your property is twice as valuable, your tax rate has gone down considerably, even though the dollar amounts are still ridiculous.
Take that same 1700 sq. ft. home and put it in the middle of South Carolina, and it’s now a $300,000 home at most (they WERE pretty well made and decorated, etc.). Tax value on that is significantly lower, even though the tax rate might be higher (indeed, I think it would be, even after South Carolina traded away half its property taxes for a 1% sales tax increase two years ago, the idiots!).
So on a rate basis, or maybe even on an income percentage basis, California might well be somewhat further down the list.
I’m no expert, and I’ve only been here a few years, but I think a good first step would be to allow the State to go totally bankrupt. Then start from scratch.
(someone will be along to prove the “I’m no expert” part shortly) 
Good or bad, it looks like we’re doing the bankrupt approach, unless the legislature manages to work out the problems. Yeah, not very likely.
The sun is shining. It’s about 75 degrees right now, with a gentle breeze blowing. I’ve pretty much set myself up to be off the grid with respect to this crap, so I got nothing to complain about. I moved out here from New England about 25 years ago, and I ain’t goin’ nowhere!
The OP is pretty much right, I’ll admit. And Pleonast is, too. The problem is structural, not something that can easily be fixed. I’m just glad I can enjoy all the good things here without having to be affected by much of the bad.
No matter what happens, the sun will shine, the weather will be perfect, and we’ll always have happy cows 