Uzma Gamal, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Posted on 01/08/2022 9:17:00 PM PST by SeekAndFind
There’s a certain type of architecture from the mid-20th century called “California Crazy.” Think of a donut shop shaped like a big concrete donut or a restaurant shaped like a hat. That kitschy programmatic architecture defined Southern California life in the middle of the last century.
Here’s an example:
Uzma Gamal, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
These days “California Crazy” has new meaning all its own — the policies of a left-wing state that seems to be drifting ever leftward. Citizens of the Golden State pay anywhere between 1% and 12.3% in taxes, depending on residency, income, and filing status, according to NerdWallet.
And those tax rates might get even higher.
There’s a constitutional amendment in front of the state legislature that would raise taxes astonishingly higher to fund the first single-payer healthcare system in the U.S.
Jared Walczak of the Tax Foundation broke down what the taxes would entail:
The new taxes would take three forms:
1. Surtaxes atop the current individual income tax structure beginning at $149,509 in income;
2. A graduated-rate payroll tax system with the top rate kicking in for employees with more than $49,990 in annual income; and
3. A gross receipts tax of 2.3 percent, excluding the first $2 million of business income.
There are some catches in this proposal, and they’re notable.
For starters, the payroll tax doesn’t apply to companies with fewer than 50 employees. At that 50th employee, the massive taxes hit hard.
Walczak explains:
Imagine, for instance, the overly simplified hypothetical of a company with 49 employees making $80,000 each. At 49 employees, the company has no payroll tax burden. Hiring one additional employee generates tax bill of $90,000—more than that employee’s salary!
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
IIRC orange julius stands were common along US 99 in the early 1960s... it was some concoction of fresh squeezed orange juice and egg or egg powder...
Orange Julius was a terrific smoothie drink. I loved them.
AFAIK, there is still a big orange on US 1 in Melbourne, FL
I remember seeing them along Hwy99 when I was 15? They were all out of business by then.
I remember the giant donut on top of the donut shop near the LA Airport in the 1970’s.
This will pass because 75% of the state are freeloaders.
Nobody in their right mind would ever hire that 50th employee.
You would be better off contracting out the work.
Randy’s Donuts. Still there
https://thelosangelesbeat.com/2013/06/offbeat-l-a-attack-of-the-giant-donuts-happy-national-donut-day/
And contracting in California is also problematic.
Ditto.
Legalized theft.
If you can get away with it, you might even
become President.
In the 1974 movie “Earthquake,” was that the big donut which went rolling down the street when the big (fictional) great quake hit LA?
You are obviously very knowledgeable about historical food products and beverages from that ancient era.
Could you maybe tell us more about the strange foods and drinks of that forgotten time?
Regards,
6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
12 ice cubes
Combine the first four ingredients in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth.
Add ice cubes (depending on the size of your ice cubes, you may want more or less. Start with 8-10). Blend again until ice cubes are crushed and the drink is smooth and creamy. Serve immediately.
That definitely sounds like it. We used to put milk and sugar in OJ. The vanilla is a definite plus—gives it a creamsicle effect.
That should be the recipe. Too much sugar for me otherwise I’d sure try it.
There was an Orange Julius stand in Manhatten on Broadway that made it about that way
I have already related most of what i can recall about the orange julius drink itself. what i could do is fill in the context.
my family was based in the silicon valley. being before the era of the casual jet plane trip, our vacations were often spent within a couple of days’ auto drive from home. sometimes going north or south, we would end up on US highway 99. iirc this was a treat because there were so many orange julius stands on the way (orange julius stands were also along other routes iirc, but nowhere near as frequent as on US 99). summertime was the optimal vacation time, and the central valley was very hot. our early ‘60s wagon had no air conditioning. we would alternately open up and close the windows, but nothing except stopping by a roadside stand for an ice cold drink seemed to work to cool us down. orange julius stands were perfect for that.
i think there were orange julius stands on other major highways at the time (US route 66?), although our family simply did not travel the other highways as often.
another popular chain stand was a&w root beer, which also sold hamburgers. these were local to sf bay, so there was no need to wait for a big vacation to have an opportunity to partake. ditto for foster’s freeze, although that was mainly an ice cream chain stand.
asides on the latter two: a&w root beer seems to have degenerated in taste by the removal of natural spices from the formula. foster’s freeze stands are still around. so far as i know, the ice cream tastes about the same. however, the number of stands seems to be on a slow but steady decline.
back to orange julius, almost all of the original US 99 stands are gone, with (i believe, as of the time i last looked a few years ago) one possible exception, which locals are trying to save. orange julius seems to have survived in some form, mainly to my awareness in indoor shopping malls as one of many indoor fast food vendors. most recently i had an orange julius in honolulu a few months ago from its stand on the waikiki beach. it tasted OK, but different from (less flavorful than) the orange julius i recalled from my youth. without looking, i imagine that they modified the original formula by reducing or eliminating the egg. it’s still ok and maybe even still worth going a little bit out of your way for, but it isn’t the same as the original imho.
for root beer, i am partial to frost top, which can be bought in plastic bottles (small and medium size) if you can find it. it tastes a lot like the old a&w root beer. frost top was also a 1960’s chain stand, although iirc i did not patronize it or it was not nearby when i was growing up in sf bay at that time. the stands had a distinctive large 3d tilted root beer mug sign with foam flowing over the top. there is still one sign visible outside of a now-closed hamburger stand just west of south lake tahoe on California State Route 89. Also, if you are a Charles Bronson fan, there is a scene in one of Bronson’s movies where he meets someone in a Frost Top stand. Iirc it was filmed in 1980 +/- 5 years (not one of Death Wish movies).
I’m going to go with: “Because the people who are dumb enough to stay in California still have two nickels to rub together in their pocket.”
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