Posted on 09/02/2009 9:43:41 PM PDT by Sockdologer
“Boy, your winters are really dreary here,” my husband observed today as he looked out at the rain. “And it’s only September.”
He is right. South Dakota has much drearier weather than a Californian is accustomed to. Here, we lack citrus trees and palms and we cannot take a day trip to the ocean side. And yet, in many ways, South Dakota is much less dreary than California.
California is now bankrupt. The state is issuing IOUs to many of its creditors and employees. But according to The Wall Street Journal many banks will no longer accept them. Foreclosures are common, but still, many cannot afford to buy suitable homes. And while many flocked to California during the great depression, hoping it was a land of opportunity, now many are emigrating from the state (NBC Bay Area).
It’s not hard to see why. The cost of living is high and so is the unemployment rate. More people are leaving than are coming. And no other state lost as many residents. According to NBC Bay Area, California may lose a seat in congress for the first time in history. The state lost over 100,000 jobs last year, and this year, layoffs will continue.
One of the programs California overspent on was its Heathcare system. California has “public options” for its less wealthy citizens. The poorest residents qualify for Medi-cal, so do certain people with pre-existing conditions like pregnancy. Those who make too much money to qualify for Medical can put their children on the Healthy Families program, where parents can pay premiums of $18 a month for insurance subsidized by taxpayers.
This sounds wonderful – and it is, until you realize that these programs are neither cheap nor free. Now, it’s true that not all of California’s economic woes were caused by its healthcare programs. The state also spent, as Bobby Darin sings in his rendition of Mac the Knife, “like a sailor”. Its residents voted “yes” on nearly every bond measure. But the Obama administration also seems ready to spend liberally.
So I can’t help but wonder – can the nation afford the public option? California went bankrupt as it attempted to support such an option for just its poorest groups. If we provide such an option, not only for the poor, but also for the rich, what kind of a burden will we really be bearing?
Still, right now, it looks like South Dakota’s future looks sunnier (even if fall is approaching) and I am happy to be back.
Oh great - more CA’ifers moving to other states to try to make those states more like bankrupt Callie-PORN-nehah.
Medi-Cal - aka endless FREE healthcare and other benefits for illegal aliens.
I’m no economist, but I don’t see how we are going to make all our current socialism work even if we don’t do a public option. A public option would be hosing a wild fire down with fuel.
I say put up a wall and force anyone who ever voted Democrat in California to remain there the rest of their days. Let them reap what they’ve sown.
Those with California license plates in surrounding states are generally unwelcome (noted in local newspapers, often victims of vandalism, particularly those with Obama bumper stickers). Do I have compassion for people who totally messed up their own nest and now look to do it elsewhere? Hell no! A frequent editorial topic, in fact, is "Californians go home."
Not everyone in California voted the wrong way.
Right you are.
Probably true :(
I wonder if Daniel Hannan was referencing this in his speech that went viral.
California is also home to some of the most conservative people in the nation. They are outnumbered, but it’s not fair to lump them together with those they fight against.
FOR ME, IT SHOULD BE A CAUSE OF GREATER ALARM. WE SHOULD BE MORE AFRAID OF ITS POTENTIAL IMPACTS.
THESE LIBERALS AND REPUBLICANS (BUT THINK LIKE LIBERALS) ARE MIGRATING TO MORE PROSPEROUS ... "RED" STATES. YES!
YES. THEY ARE LEAVING LIBERAL CALIFORNIA. BUT I'M NOT SURE IF THEY ARE ALSO LEAVING BEHIND OR TOTALLY ABANDONING THEIR OWN FAILED LIBERAL MENTALITY.
SAME THING IS CURRENTLY HAPPENING IN NEW YORK AND MICHIGAN.
BEWARE, RED STATERS!!!! THIS COULD BE PART OF THE OVERALL STRATEGY FOR A TOTALLY BLUE (READ: COMMUNIST) AMERICA:
SPREAD THE D VOTERS TO THE RED STATES BY BANKRUPTING THE BLUE STATES AS A NATURAL EXCUSE.
But maybe it's just me.
Of course a lot of them, perhaps most, aren't. They're leaving with the same mindset they brought with them when they came to California, leaving their home states for a different sandbox. Now, having trashed this one, they're off to find new ones.
I suppose that’s possible, but I don’t think it’s probable. I don’t think most Californians could handle a South Dakota winter. Liberals are only activists when they can be comfortable protesting. I just don’t think they have it in them to pull off such a grand strategy.
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