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“That’s not why CA gets denigrated. The liberals with their sick “environmental” rules have been attacking that state’s produce sector for decades.”

I understand why some right wing loonies hate California. I don’t like our government any more than they do. That said, with all our governmental troubles, we are still the number one business state in the nation, the RATs can’t seem to kill our businesses. This drought has nothing to do with politics. Sure, we can ( and should have been ) do/done something about water long ago. It’s nuts for us to be growing cotton, rice and almonds, because they all take way too much water to grow here. Government ( and that’s both D’s and R’s) should have been de-incentivizing these crops years ago, but the ag folks knew who to pay off. Now, they are quite likely to loose their businesses in spite of the state government’s misbehavior in their behalf. The state water project was supposed to replace groundwater pumping, but all the ag guys did was open up more land to high water use farming when the water started flowing. There are places in southern Kern County where groundwater pumping for agriculture has caused a 50 ft subsidence in the land.
But none of this has anything to do solely with the RATs, and now, if we don’t get some abnormal rainfall this winter, not only will we suffer, but so to will the rest of the country who rely on us for the stuff that they eat. And as far as people moving out, that would be a good thing, because there are already too many living here.