Richard Reeves writes a syndicated column which appears on Yahoo News. He gives a liberal's view of what is wrong with California, and he makes a good argument. I don't agree with his conclusions but he accurately lays out the various elements of the issue.
Reeves believes that California is developing what I call the "Argentinian problem": taxpayers who demand more government services than they are willing to pay taxes to support. In Argentina the result has been vast inflation as the hapless government prints money to meet voter demands. California doesn't have this option; states in the U.S. cannot operate on unending deficits nor create money as the federal government can.
I think California taxpayers need to learn how much government their current tax burden will purchase, and then decide whether they are happy with that level of services. It may turn out that they are okay with less government-provided services. Or, they may decide to raise taxes to pay for more government.
In the longer term, states need to find revenue sources which are less tied to the economic barometer than are state income taxes. Alternatively, they need to save money in good times to carry them through bad times - a thing that is difficult politically.
