California will be first in line as we head down the crapper.
Your post is spot on.
Throughout my lifetime, California was always a leader in cultural trends.
Hot rods, music, films, space program, education, etc.
That’s still the case, but the trends are all negative now.
Illegals, high taxes, breakdown of the Judeo-Christian culture, welfare, etc.
But sadly they are still an excellent predictor of what the rest of the US will see eventually.