I go to business meetings in CA - mostly SF and SD - and the deterioration over twenty years is amazing.
That having been said, a lot of folks here say they can’t leave because their job in CA pays more than they can make elsewhere. If the state is destroying the economy, how can that be?
Myth, likely. CA has one of the highest costs of living in the US.
I have developed a friendship with a guy that fled CA with his family about three years ago. He took a hefty pay cut to move. But the cost of living, especially housing, is much lower than CA. He says everything considered, he's breaking about even.