California is just screwed.
Gerrymandered districts and term limits result in inexperienced, untested party hacks in office. They represent the extremes of their party, because they don't have to appeal to the center to get elected.
The 2/3rds rule requires really means that 1/3rd of the legislature can prevent a budget from passing, which means they get more leverage than their numbers would allow.
The state can't run a deficit, which is the economically respsonible thing to do during a recession, so long as you run surpluses during expansions.
Prop 13 limits the state's reliance on property taxes, which are relatively stable across the economic cycle. That means California raises a higher proportion of its revenue from sales and income taxes than mosts states; revenues from those taxes vary a lot more with the economy.
Many other propositions carve off portions of the budget from the legislature, giving them much less room to work with.
So when the economy falters, a disproportionate drop in tax revenues results in a deficit too big for the dysfunctional legislature to deal with.
I am starting to hope that the recall election results in a constitutional disaster big enough that we can wipe it all out and start over from scratch.
No wonder peopple don't participate in politics. Most of the political coverage treats it like a horse race, not a competition between ideas.
KQED's Forum program, which is usually pretty good at covering complex issues in depth, was an egregious offender today. The host and his guests talked for half an hour about the San Francisco mayor's race without once mentioning a position held by a candidate. They were ranked based on the polls, how much money they've raised, where they sit in San Francisco's broad political spectrum from kind of liberal to really liberal, and so on. But I learned nothing about the candidates that would help me decide who to vote for, unless my only interest is in voting for the expected winner.
William Saletan hits the nail on the head, but he's talking about national politics. It's a lot easier to find information about the presidential candidates and their ideas, though; they all have web sites and some even participate in interactive events, even if they end up mostly just repeating how great it is to participate without really saying anything.
For the mayoral candidates, it's harder to find this stuff out. The local papers don't help at all. And the mayor's policies actually matter in San Francisco.
Well, my adoring fan demanded it, so here's what's going on.
I'm all moved into the new place. At least, all my stuff is there; I haven't unpacked most of it and I'm really still just camping. I brought very little furniture from the old place, and haven't bought replacements yet.
I'm also a little dissatisfied with the place. I used to be right in the thick of things, just off the busy Valencia Street corridor with dining and drinking options galore. Now I'm off the beaten path, surrounded by failed dotcom warehouses and other light industry. The park across the street seems to be the exclusive domain of homeless junkies.
I miss that connection to the old hood, the random chance of running into friends on the street, easy to get around with out a car.
I also broke up with the girlfriend on Monday. It's very sad; I like her a lot and wish her nothing but the best, but I think she and I had different visions of the future.
So overall, I'm worse off than when I published the moving FAQ. But, hey, at least I have my own drier.