Oh, what a great state California once was. We were the leader in almost every phase of American life and people flocked here to be a part of the Golden State magic.
It didn't just happen. We had innovators on the cutting edges of their fields and we had lawmakers who were willing to invest in the infrastructure to allow businesses and institutions to flourish.
We built a water system that helped feed the world, and created a first-class university system that gave the state generations of productive workers who paid lots of taxes to continue a cycle of investment in the quality of the state.
Our transportation system was envied and we were trendsetters in just about every phase of American life. It was a glorious time and we took it for granted.
Then about 30 years ago, we seemed to get bored with how well California was doing.
We let our water system deteriorate and began dismantling our university system. We now pay more to keep one felon in prison than it costs to put two people through the University of California. Our transportation system is in gridlock, and we seem to think that it's a badge of honor to be mediocre in everything the state touches.
So you shouldn't be surprised that state government has been teetering on bankruptcy, our children can't afford the rising cost of public universities and we're letting felons out of prisons because there isn't enough space to hold all of them.
All of these things are related, even if the people running the state don't want to admit it. They think we should make less of an investment in our young people, and somehow that will create a better California. We're in a terrible downward spiral that is crushing the California dream, and no one in charge seems to care.
Now we have a bunch of candidates running for governor on platforms of doing less. No wonder the experts say California is ungovernable. Those in charge don't want to do the hard work that it takes to govern.
They want to put the state on automatic pilot and spend their time raising money for their next election.
We have three moderate Republicans stumbling all over themselves to show they are really far-right Republicans. They need to appeal to the GOP's conservative base to get nominated in the Republican primary and then will attempt to move to the center to get elected in mainstream California.
It's just the opposite on the Democratic side, with the appeal to the far left in the primary and then the nominee moving back to the center for the general election.
No wonder California voters don't recognize the people they elected after they get into office.
It would be nice for once to hear a candidate for governor say that he or she will return California to greatness by investing in the University of California and California State University systems and replace worn out roads, bridges and canals. But that will take money, a concept that makes candidates' knees tremble.
Instead, some of them are signing no-tax pledges initiated by out-of-state political groups, and then claiming that the pledge is an investment in California. Did one of these candidates ever stop to think that maybe these out-of-state groups like the idea of California failing?
It would be terrible to think that this state won't rebound anytime soon, but you're not going to get better by not trying. It seems we're not trying very hard to be anything more than an average state.
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