California having gone into the toilet has nothing to do with the initiative process. If anything, the initiative process held off the statists for a generation - think Proposition 13 which Ronald Reagan supported, with his support subsequently convincing many voters to support him for President.
What has caused California to go into the toilet are the leftists. When attempting to take over a place, they first attempt to drive out as many productive members of society as possible. Their purpose is to reach a tipping point where the parasites outnumber those who are self-reliant. In California, during the late 90s and afterward, literally millions of conservative voters emigrated to more business friendly locales such as Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and Texas. That left the leaches who have turned the formerly red California state into a deep blue state.
The same tactics the leftists used to turn California into a deep blue state, they are now attempting to use to turn the United States into a deep blue nation. So if we want to stop them, we should be clear on what has led to their rise - and trust me - it ain't the initiative process.