Your estimation of voter intelligence is much more generous than mine. Maybe if I lived anywhere but California I might be persuaded to think your way. But "spending yourself rich" seems to be a huge vote-getter here, especially with the public employee unions and the dim bulb products of our government schools who've been indoctrinated to think socialism can really work.
I see the coming national election as California politics writ large. Its basic themes will be class warfare and accusations of racism against anyone who campaigns against The One. Again, I hope you're right but I don't feel this is a time for complacency.
“Your estimation of voter intelligence is much more generous than mine.”
It isn’t; I think in general they are the worst-educated electorate in the world. We lived as though “deficit” was just a reference to some dilemna far down the road that we’d never have to deal with, because the effects on us were muted.
Only in the past few years have people been able to see so easily the loss of urchasing power in their dollars, and for the first time they have to deal with the cause of it. Whether you are an average Joe working 9-5, or a welfare queen sleeping 9-5, the fact is that when you go shopping for groceries (with cash, debit card, food stamps, whatever) you’re bringing home a lot less than you did a year or two ago for the same amount.
NJ is in the same position as CA, but sought to address it in a different way (by electing Christie) because the writing was on the wall where nobody could ignore it. Companies and the Americans that worked for them were fleeing the state, and unless something drastic was done we would very quickly be left with the permanent urban underclass, illegal aliens, and the government workers to administer both groups. Our government workers (cops, teachers) were enjoying a much higher standard of living than the people they worked for, and it was publicized by the Asbury Park Press (leading up to Christie’s election); you could find teachers by name and how much they were paid, and at that moment any politician that would battle the teachers’ unions would win re-election in perpetuity.
A lot of desperate Dems voted for Christie; without him our property taxes were increasing at least $500 annually.