Poor VDH - I'm guessing he knows the real truth, but is constrained by his contractual writing agreements in order to appeal to a broader, more "reasonable" audience. He's also significantly hampered by the burden of being from the central valley; that is, he's blinded from some of the core drivers. For example, I would guess my net worth is significantly higher, simply from being in the middle of thunder dome.
Anyway, let's dispense with the small talk and cut to the chase. Like VDH, I'm a born & bred native ie I've seen it all. Here's the bottom line: when you combine the natural, corrosive elements of government which lead to corruption with insatiable market demand, the current day California was just waiting to be created. That is, it couldn't have turned out any other way.
The reason I say this is because one of the fundamental core drivers behind human motivation is the desire to "get rich". There are a bunch of different ways to achieve this goal. Conservatives naturally gravitate towards the private marketplace, but for savvy proglibs, government is a sure fire way to build up a significant net worth. But, if it's overly egregious and others aren't making similar bank, this can result in backlash.
So, ask yourself this question: with all the bad publicity about CA, with all the stories of government graft and corruption, how come no one is really leaving? Please don't quote me statistics - I live/drive here every day. By any metric, traffic volume + housing demand is off the charts. It seems to be growing exponentially. Ok, back to my question: how come with all the complaining, no one is voting with their wallet?
And this, my FRiends is the answer to a question no one seems to be asking: everyone - that is, anyone who owns real estate in the prime parts of the Bar area, SoCal (LA/OC) or SD is getting rich. And by rich, I mean levels of net worth far surpassing any previous generation of middle class natives. Take me for example - I grew up in a upper middle class neighborhood of what is now called the Silicon valley. Yet, yet this neighborhood of doctors, engineers and other professionals was only simply post-war moderately comfortable. 40 years later, the homes in my childhood neighborhood represent some of the most expensive real estate anywhere. And what of all the comfortable retirees who are now worth $2.5-5.0m simply due to household equity values?
Get the picture? It's why natives in London, Paris, NYC, you name any major city experiencing rapid immigration growth don't rebel and change government. Everyone is getting rich. And that's the payoff, one that VDH either doesn't realize because he doesn't experience it himself, or for some odd reason chooses to ignore. Because, it doesn't fit the narrative of his broader audience, which is CA sucks and everyone still living here is "stuck". LOL