'Will California become America's first failed state?' (UK Observer, Oct 4)

[Jackeens]

Los Angeles, 2009: California may be the eighth largest economy in the world, but its state staff are being paid in IOUs, unemployment is at its highest in 70 years, and teachers are on hunger strike. So what has gone so catastrophically wrong?

California has a special place in the American psyche. It is the Golden State: a playground of the rich and famous with perfect weather. It symbolises a lifestyle of sunshine, swimming pools and the Hollywood dream factory.

But the state that was once held up as the epitome of the boundless opportunities of America has collapsed. From its politics to its economy to its environment and way of life, California is like a patient on life support. At the start of summer the state government was so deeply in debt that it began to issue IOUs instead of wages. Its unemployment rate has soared to more than 12%, the highest figure in 70 years. Desperate to pay off a crippling budget deficit, California is slashing spending in education and healthcare, laying off vast numbers of workers and forcing others to take unpaid leave. In a state made up of sprawling suburbs the collapse of the housing bubble has impoverished millions and kicked tens of thousands of families out of their homes. Its political system is locked in paralysis and the two-term rule of former movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger is seen as a disaster – his approval ratings having sunk to levels that would make George W Bush blush. The crisis is so deep that Professor Kenneth Starr, who has written an acclaimed history of the state, recently declared: "California is on the verge of becoming the first failed state in America."

Outside the Forum in Inglewood, near downtown Los Angeles, California has already failed. The scene is reminiscent of the fallout from Hurricane Katrina, as crowds of impoverished citizens stand or lie aimlessly on the hot tarmac of the centre's car park. It is 10am, and most have already been here for hours. They have come for free healthcare: a travelling medical and dental clinic has set up shop in the Forum (which usually hosts rock concerts) and thousands of the poor, the uninsured and the down-on-their-luck have driven for miles to be here.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/04/california-failing-state-debt

[Catshrink]

1. Unless Arizona beats them to it.

[47of74]

2. These are the consequences of electing Greedy Oily Pigs

[EFerrari]

25. No, this is the consequence of allowing Dick Cheney

to determine your energy policy in secret. Remember that? One of the things they planned was to oust Gray Davis and our Secretary of State so they could turn CA red with electronic voting.

And they almost did it.

The wingnuttery always trashes CA because it's huge and blue. If you buy into it, they thank you.

[Selatius]

3. If California collapses, the US economy will also be dragged down with it.

Lots of businesses have customers out west. If they stop buying out there, we will all take the hit in the form of lay-offs and cut hours due to decreased demand.

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. amen. 10% of the US lives in CA.

[Odin2005]

4. "WILL"? It already IS!

[virgogal]

5. One down,forty nine to go? Sad !

[Salviati]

6. Washington will soon be on it's way if Tim Eyman has anything to say about it.

What with all the tax and government spending limiting initiatives, basically locking in the state budget to recession era levels.


Republicans campaigning on the failure of government are a self fulfilling prophecy.

[Turbineguy]

12. Eyman's winter heating plan:

Piss in your pants, it will warm you up.

But as long as idiots vote for his shit, it will happen.

[slampoet]

7. Take a look at Mississippi or Oklahoma and tell me again who has failed.

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. What's going on in Oklahoma?

[TheKentuckian]

8. Very plausibly but from lemons come lemonaide

I'm not much on the states rights point of view. One nation.

[izquierdista]

9. They should dig up Howard Jarvis

Grind up his bones and sell them for fertilizer. I'll start the bidding at $5.

[Selatius]

10. They cut their throats with Proposition 13. nt

[Turbineguy]

13. That happened long ago

and could have been fixed by now.

[slackmaster]

16. The only thing wrong with Prop. 13 is the ease with which commercial properties can be transferred

Without incurring a reassessment.

It mas saved many people from literally being taxed out of house and home.

[Nikki Stone1]

11. "Los Angeles now has a poverty rate of 20%"

My city is dying.

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. And the roads are bumpy. Can't we afford some repaving?

[tjwash]

23. We got the same problem down here

San Diego's gonna have a budget deficit this year too, so I don't see them geting fixed real soon.

[Liberal_in_LA]

26. Yeah, SD's roads suck too

[Nikki Stone1]

35. Obviously not. Nor can we afford new pipes for the water system.

...

[texasleo]

14. If this were about Texas, the thread would have 600 replies and 900 recs.

:eyes:

[NNN0LHI]

30. Might have something to do with that secession stuff?

[tjwash]

32. Give us back the fucking money you stole from California in 2001and we might cut you some slack.

Assholes...enron orchestrated all of those fake blackouts in 2001, and then using the scare tactic of more rolling blackouts, pushed a deregulation plan that was designed in large part by Ken Lay. Gray Davis fell for it hook, line, and sinker, and then made the politically suicidal mistake of locking all of California into long term contracts, on fucked up terms that screwed everyone but enron.

I remember all that very well, especially how my electric bill over the course of the summer was over 300 fucking dollars a month while that was happening. That was one of the main reasons that Davis got booted out of office.

It was actually sheer genius, how they effectively looted California. Then, Bush crushed the subsequent lawsuit, and it was later found out that Enron faked the shortages and blackouts to jack up their prices. It was a very well thought out, and contrived long term plan, to milk money out of California and into Texas.

[bananas]

15. DC was the first failed state, Puerto Rico the second.

In the literal sense that both DC and PR made efforts to become states and failed.

[omega minimo]

20. Bullshit massaged by vultures

[EFerrari]

22. The kind of credibility that accompanies quoting Ken Starr.

lol

[omega minimo]

24. yup -- and Make Way For The Privatizers!!! Ever heard of Repuke Failure LIHOP? Anyone?

[lolly]

27. KEVIN Starr

Kevin Starr is a California historian, professor at USC who teaches Ca. history, has written books on Ca.

KEN Starr is the panty-sniffing wingnut who led the bizarre 75 million dollar witch hunt against the Clintons.

[EFerrari]

28. . . .

The crisis is so deep that Professor Kenneth Starr, who has written an acclaimed history of the state, recently declared: "California is on the verge of becoming the first failed state in America."

[tjwash]

21. On the list of failed fucked up states in the U.S., I think California is way down on the list.

The only reason anyone gives a shit, is because if we crash, the entire country, most of Europe, and a huge chunk of Asia go down with us.

However...thanks for your concern UK Guardian. How's that record fucking number of housing foreclosures that you all have going on in the UK and Ireland working out for you across the pond there, you self righteous, smug assholes?

[MindPilot]

29. You know what we call that around here?

Monday.

There is always someone someplace else willing to tell us how terrible things are here. I've lived in California for 30 years and tales of imminent disaster are simply part of the cultural fabric.

And what the fuck qualifies "Professor" Kenneth Starr to write an "acclaimed" history of California?

[EFerrari]

31. It looks like the journalist mixed up his attribution or, he did it on purpose.

There is a historian but his name isn't Kenneth.

[tjwash]

33. whatever his name is, he doesn't now what the fuck he is talking about.

Just my opinion, but the guy that wrote that article has an extremely short sighted and shallow analysis.

This is a actually going to be a much needed restructuring period, that has been a long time coming. The good news is, that the San Francisico Bay Area is still the same economic powerhouse it has been since the late 70's. Los Angeles will recover once music and movies develop a better economic model to cope with new technology, and new distribution methods. San Diego is still a leader in ship building, defense contracts, and has settled in to a huge niche in bio-tech research companies.

Basically, everyone knows that there will have to be cutbacks. It's going to suck and hurt, but I'm OK with it. It will also hurt America as a whole as well, but that's just tough shit.

[EFerrari]

34. The right wing whackjobs have to knock California. It's just part of their routine. n/t