I’ve talked to two realtors in northern California in the last week who say business is booming. One feels that California is in recovery and the rest of the nation will follow.

(Serious note) Explain Silicon Valley.

Businesses flee because it does not want to fund government. Business flees California AND the US. So goes the tax base and then ‘we the people’ print money. Soon (six months, ten years?) the money won’t be worth the paper it is printed on. Whatever, the bill will be paid with real or fiat money.

Government can not create wealth…only business creates wealth. The government can only divide wealth (into ever smaller slices!) If you want a larger piece of the wealth pie, you must either have a bigger pie (created by business) or you must take more from someone else.

If you choose to elect a government who shares the wealth, what will you do when the shares are all gone?

The solution is to elect politicians who understand that 2 + 2 will always equal 4. A solution is to support the growth of wealth.

But, then we are in a democracy (so much for the Federal Republic the Constitution provided) and it is so easy to vote resources from someone else. As Churchill said “in a Democracy, the people get exactly what they deserve”.

You are all forgetting one thing. Properties are reassessed after house sales. So, the only people who are really benefiting from Prop 13 are people who bought their houses a long time ago AND haven’t sold them. They have had marginal tax increase (1%-2% annually). Basically, prop 13 stopped random/frequent property assessments by the counties on individual homes. It is only when the house sells, or major renovations take place, that the property can be reassessed for it’s value.

Prop 13 wasn’t about selfish people who didn’t want to pay property taxes, it was about people who didn’t want their properties frequently reassessed during housing booms.

Another point is that in the 70′s, Prop 13 style propositions were proposed and continually could not qualify for the ballot. the legislature had years to pass legislation that would have stopped prop 13, but the legislature failed to do it. And when the legislature fails, the people will take it into their own hands.

I don’t see California ever becoming third world. It’s far too valuable to the country as a whole and to people who live or want to live there.

California’s porblems are many- too much spent on infrastructure, welfare, and education with no frameworks for accountability. Other states have similar problem areas but have been more innovative in addressing them than CA has- mostly with strategies of spending less. CA has been governed poorly, especially fiscally, at every level for a long time.

Now, THAT is Hispanics. I take a lot of calls from California so I know there are many different races there; I actually do take a lot of calls from Russians, but I never thought about them as being people smuggled in on boxcars in ships.

I do believe Californians are different in that they expect more for less. These are the calls I get demanding credits for charges they incurred. At first, I noticed it more among the Hispanics, but now after 8 months of taking calls, it’s caucasions from California, as well. Orientals and Arabics do not run their bills up and they do not demand credits. They demand an explanation for the 20 cent text messaging charge on their bill. But white and Hispanic people from California are neck and neck in demanding something for nothing.

I honestly do not get those calls from other states. The people from the deep south are almost always scrupulously polite; people from New England—I love New Jersey and New York—they get mad and they want it straightened out, but they’re not asking for freebies.

Each state, or area, honestly has a different mind set. People from every other state are astounded when I adjust their bill a mere $20 and so grateful, while people from California expect huge adjustments.

Today, I’ll try to remember to keep track of calls by state and adjustments. Maybe for a week. Not identifying anybody, but just to give you some idea.

Seth, your last sentence makes me so sad. It can’t be that hopeless. Those people have to wake up and do the sensible thing or they will end up in anarchy. California is a state of such stark contrast. I saw it when I was in Newport Beach.

J Madsen, thank you, I’ll order that on Netflix if they have it. I feel just terrible even voicing that opinion, frankly. I don’t like it, I believe it’s based on racism, but then when I look at countries with mostly white people and those with mostly black people or people of other colors, it seems to bear out.

Charlie, that’s very interesting. I do get a lot of calls from India and Pakistan. Why do you suppose there are more illegals in California than, say, Michigan, or Washington state, or Texas?

On a sort of different note—I’ll have to look this up—I think Florida has the highest taxes. Oregon is also very high. Both are higher than California, although California’s taxes are pretty darn high. Just based on peoples’ phone bills.

This is an important discussion to me because I figure it’s only a matter of time before Utah ends up having to take in refugees from the civil war that’s going to erupt in California. I have extra toothbrushes. :)

My understanding was that they do contribute mostly but as illegals they can’t then reap the benefits. most employers don’t take too many chances with deductions.

the racist bit is the belief that its mostly Mexicans illegals. its a minor issue but still tells people that most of the mexicans in CA are illegal when most are probably legal, although no one seems to have accurate figures, plus its usually the last group to arrive who will have the highest levels of illegality, and in CA that’s probably Pakistanis or Russian, but again we don’t have accurate figures so my guessing here could also be considered ‘racist’ :)

read Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond for your question on Africa. If you dont have time for the book, then the PBS three part series will do.