I agree that California should figure out its financial mess on its own, but I don't like the State portrayed as a welfare case. Head case maybe, but we do make money and contribute a great deal to the rest of the nation.
California is incredibly wealthy. It's the state government that's bankrupt, or close to it.
There's not the least doubt in my mind that the people of California contribute mightily to domestic GDP and are carrying an enormous amount of the burden of the federal government.
You are absolutely right to distinguish that from the fiscal problems that Gray Davis has.