California gets a steady stream of the best and brightest legal immigrants (and young professionals from other states), who pay no attention to the doom and gloom prophecies and just go out and get things done. The California Legislature seems like a gang of amateurs to them, compared to the corrupt leadership in their own countries. Thus California has been able to stay afloat and even thrive through a series of increasingly feckless state government decisions - it takes advantage of enthusiastic brains cultivated in other places and backs them up on the low end with plenty of cheap illegal labor. But that party will have to end some time.
“Thus California has been able to stay afloat and even thrive”
Are you sure you want to say that? LOL