Wednesday, November 3, 2010

CA as Banana Republic

Democrats swept all of the top jobs in California...every one...without exception. And yet, about 40% of Californians voted for the GOP. Imagine being one of those 40%, as I once was.

Imagine seeing that your state, a place of which you are fond, of which you are possibly a native, is going irretrievably into the toilet. What happens, what do you do? My nephew is in this fix now and he asked me where could he move? My answer was: Texas or Oklahoma.

As a native Californian my nephew won't like many aspects of those states, but he will find the politics congenial. He will find housing inexpensive, taxes relatively low, and the climate not too different if he can tolerate the tornadoes and the humidity.

Will he move? Probably not until retirement. Many who aren't tied down by secure employment will go sooner. Others will get opportunities to move with their employers that are leaving the state.

Over time, this migration will hollow out California's middle class, leaving the state with many poor, and a few wealthy. Does that sound like the classic description of a third world country, resembling many nations in Latin America or Asia? It does.