Why don't you get the fuck back to work and start cutting the hell out of every fucking non-essential program that the state has even a dollar invested in? Why don't you look at the drain on public services and education that illegal immigration has cost us? Why don't you tell the public sector unions that they're going to have to work on restructuring their contracts if they want California to be viable again? Why don't you take a look at the high taxes that are moving productive people into other states?

Geez, fix some of that stuff and I might make another cross country trip back to the Golden State. (But you and I both know there is literally no hope for this.)

I'm going to take a mildly contrarian view here, although this may just be wishful thinking due to the fact that I'm stuck in CA at the moment.

There is no doubt that the policies are currently disasterous and that the state is effectively bankrupt (effectively, as there is not an actual mechanism for a state to file bankruptcy, although they can repudiate debt).  However, as California is the biggest state leading this crisis (most in debt, one of the main housing foreclosure states, etc.), there is a chance, slim though it may be, that we may be one of the first states to bottom out in this crisis.

Obama may be the One, but his Administration has so many fingers in so many dikes at the moment, that he may find it impossible to support CA's debt on a federal level.  CA's hole in the fiscal dike is so big I don't even think Michelle's fat ass could plug it (whoops, cheap shot).

If CA doesn't get federal support, the state blows up ... huge cuts to government, unemployment blasting up to at least 30% (U-6, not the bogus U-3 that's used in the media), etc. etc.  Major pain in the short term, but major pain is the only way to wake people up to just how fucked up things are.

We're in for a world of hurt (you ain't seen nothin' yet) ... it's just a matter of when.  The areas that are the first to truly bottom will likely be the ones that are first to recover.  There's a chance CA could lead the way.

I bet all you Californians are very happy about the $hundreds of millions spent on stem-cell research right about now. It's funny how often pandering and back-patting deals come back to bite somebody else on the ass.

I still think that bailing out the states could the final straw. Mostly Dem states really need to be bailed out, CA, NY, MA, MI for instance, (Athough, it appears we are in the middle of bailing out huge swathes of MI already).

I see a cascade effect as those 4 demand/ask for cash, then it spreads and I have a feeling the disbursement of "bailout funds" might be a little uneven between states depending on their voting records. And then... well, it won't be pretty.

As a side note, I've discovered a stimulus package I can appreciate. My Mauser should be here in a week or two.