Voters can reject feudal California

California resembles a feudal state. That’s the conclusion of a series of articles based on a 2012 University of Southern California study of the state’s changing demographics.

Feudal California boasts levels of overall poverty and income inequality comparable to the Third World, with schools ranked near the bottom in the country and housing affordable only to the wealthy. The result is that young and talented people are moving out, leaving the exploited poor, the aging and the super rich.

Feudal California is good at producing new billionaires and disrupting local communities. Minority, inner city and agricultural communities are particular targets. Like the society envisioned in “Hunger Games,” the pretense of fairness hides another reality.

The cure for the original version of feudalism was simple. Citizens decided against it.

Feudal California was made possible by the silence of good people – local office holders, school board members, pastors and business leaders. Voter revolts in Europe and America reveal a trend. The new feudalism has been tested and found wanting.

Feudal California is what some want to export to the rest of America. The opposite seems to be happening. Choosing a different path only requires voters to say, “Enough is enough.”

This story was originally published January 21, 2017 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Voters can reject feudal California."