The California dream ends in empty reservoirs and homeless tents
California, once a model of effective governance, now faces significant challenges including high poverty rates and housing unaffordability. The state's public sector has been criticized for incompetence, leading to a mass exodus of residents. Major projects, such as the high-speed rail, have faced delays and skyrocketing costs, raising concerns about the state's future.
- ▪California has the nation's highest cost-of-living adjusted poverty rate and the worst housing affordability.
- ▪The state's Medicaid programs are set to receive $138 billion from the federal government, raising concerns about potential fraud.
- ▪The high-speed rail project, approved in 2008, has seen costs balloon from an estimated $33 billion to potentially over $231 billion with no trains currently running.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Many years ago, sometime after Ronald Reagan replaced Pat Brown as governor of California, I was driving up the coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco and visited San Simeon, William Randolph Hearst’s epic mansion. It was state property then, donated by the Hearst family, and the uniformed guide struck me as knowledgeable, competent, and proud of her work. Some time later, I wrote articles arguing that California, not yet the highest-tax state but never a tax haven either, was proof that big government could provide competent services. For a generation under Govs.
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