Californians Are Fleeing The Golden State At An Alarming Rate

Perhaps it's fate. California, named after a mythical island of paradise, as described in a 16th century Spanish novel, may have been too good to last. Whether you blame incredible amounts of immigration [nearly 12 million people in the last 25 years or so into a current population of around 35 million], overcrowding, high taxes, or the most socialistic state government in the country bar none, Californians are leaving at an alarming rate.

Of course, there are those who are taking a more sanguine view. They would argue that there have been plenty of migrations in the US, starting with the general "Manifest Destiny" trend westward, even before that term was coined in 1845. There was much movement of industry out of traditional New England centers starting in the 1920's, and there was significant migration of Southern blacks to the North starting even earlier in the 20th century. Notably, there was much movement to California, spurred first by the Gold Rush, and then by the aircraft boom of World War II, not to mention the mild climate. Relax, they would say. This is just another population shift.

Point well taken. Still, it's cold comfort for those who have grown up here, and have seen the changes first hand. We remember when California public schools were the envy of the nation, and we remember when the Los Angeles Times took an arch-conservative editorial stance. We remember city, county, and state politics before their every aspect was dominated by racial overtones, and we remember when film production actually occurred in Hollywood.

Indeed, the very industry that gave California most of its glamour has all but vanished, leaving behind little more than office towers and historical studio buildings filled with administrative functionaries. What other industries might depart the state? Rather, we should ask what industries have to stay here.

Fortunately, agriculture, the foundation of the state's wealth, will top the list. Mining, fishing, forestry, and their secondary processes would round out those basic endeavors that are intimately tied into the physical geography. The military is well entrenched here, but bases have been known to close. Government has been a major employer, but will be affected by an ever shrinking tax base as industry moves out. Public sector cutbacks are inevitable, as are higher taxes, which will cause more businesses to leave, in a truly vicious circle.

Population-fueled enterprises such as education, health care, and construction will change dramatically. At some point, the state will have to bail out of running its impossibly expensive elementary and secondary school system, embracing, I predict, a voucher model. Publicly funded hospitals will be crushed by the burden of illegal aliens, and as the state loses its middle class, builders will either be erecting large apartment blocks or mansions. There will be scant need for new commercial or industrial development.

Given the disastrous employment prospects, many productive and able bodied young people will continue to leave, further intensifying the basic problems. At that point, the state will be forced to create tax-favored enterprise zones to lure industry back into California, but the long-term benefit of such policies is dubious at best. New Hampshire, to name one state, has shown that the most splendid "gimmick" is to have no gimmick at all. Just keep taxes low, workers educated, and the environment favorable for business.

But this precept is lost on an arrogant and despotic Leftist leadership class, that ultimately survives based only on the ignorance and naïveté of the have-nots, and the desperate guilt of so many of the haves.

© Copyright 2003 — This report, is submitted by the writer for publication exclusively in Toogood Reports, but remains the property of its author and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the writer's express prior written consent. The opinions and facts expressed herein are those of the writer alone, who is solely responsible for its contents, and does not purport in any way to represent Toogood Reports, its owners or its management.

To comment on this article or express your opinion directly to the author, you are invited to e-mail Michael at editor@bestwriters.com .

In one month, in one state, a motor vehicles department gave out 41 driver's licenses to people assuming the identities of the dead.

California's head of homeland security thought there were safeguards to prevent that kind of identity theft. If all this leaves you feeling even more uneasy about the law passed this month giving undocumented immigrants the right to have drivers' licenses, it should. I see dead people . . . driving

Powerful gay men. Vulnerable teen-age boys. Murder. For years, some prominent local men who led secret lives were rumored to be protected. Whispers surrounding another important man's death prompt the question: Is there really a conspiracy? bakersfield.com - The Lords of Bakersfield

Gray-out Davis has conceded that he has lost touch with the voters. Governor Davis returning to the site of his inaugural ceremonies in Sacramento, acknowledged on Wednesday that he had isolated himself over the past five years by talking exclusively with lawmakers, lobbyists, and his staff at the expense of real people. He said that was a mistake. Here's the quote. "My vision is to make the most diverse state on earth, and we have people from every planet on the earth in this state. We have the sons and daughters of people of every planet, of every country on earth." He said it. Now, you toss this guy and Wesley Clark in a hopper, combine the two of them, and you may have the I.Q. of a pencil eraser. Well, at least the political acumen. "My vision is to make the most diverse state on earth, and we have people from every planet on the earth in this state." What the 9th Circus Was Really Up To

A California college professor who grew up in a heavily Hispanic-populated area says there has been a major paradigm shift in the type of immigrants that live in California now.

Dr. Victor Davis Hanson teaches classics at California State University, Fresno, one of the 23 campuses in the California State University system. He says when he grew up in the nearby San Joaquin Valley, the majority of the population were Mexican immigrants who had become Americans and who made a genuine effort to become "acculturated" and to assimilate into mainstream American society.

Hanson believes that type of immigration established a healthy pattern for all concerned. "When people came from Mexico in numbers that were smaller and would allow greater chance for assimilation -- along with legalities so that they didn't live in the shadows of society -- they were less likely to be exploited by employers, they were more likely to vote, and they were more likely to learn English," he says.

But now, the professor says, thanks to uncontrolled immigration, the region's population is composed mostly of illegal aliens who live in separate communities, isolated from mainstreaming influences. California Scholar Says Most 'New Immigrants' Fail to Assimilate

I could careless about CA. they deserve just what they are getting

So I guess the rest of the country is getting what they deserve too?

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15 States License Illegals To Drive

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, September 17, 2003 | By Jon Dougherty

Amid the outrage over California Gov. Gray Davis' decision to sign legislation allowing illegal aliens to obtain driver's licenses comes the stunning revelation by immigration experts that the Golden State is neither unique nor alone: 14 other states also allow illegal aliens to drive legally on their highways.

While many of those states – Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and West Virginia – have had such laws in place for some time, they have become increasingly scrutinized since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, say analysts with the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

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I guess Texas is getting what they deserve too, since they are being over ridden by illegal aliens and they were the first state to off in-state tuition to illegal aliens.

I've had it. Posted on 05/20/2003 8:43 AM PDT by BeerSwillr

I've had it with illegal aliens, illegal immigration, and the complicit attitude of US immigration policy!

My 16 year old has been looking for a summer job for the last 3 months, what he's found has been surprising. Not only are there no summer jobs available, there are no jobs available, period, for someone with no experience. So you say he's not looking hard enough? That the jobs are there, you just have to find them. HA!

All the entry level, low skill jobs that would normally be taken by teenagers and young adults during the summer are being taken by illegal immigrants, at least here in Texas. The few places that don't hire illegals have to contend with 10 or more applicants for each open position.

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Minorities tip scales in Denver, exceeds whites for first time. sacbee ^ | September 18, 2003 | GENARO C. ARMAS

The number of minorities - Hispanics, Asians, blacks and others - is greater than the number of non-Hispanic whites in the city, according to population estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Hispanics Largest Growing Population In Idaho-puts more pressure on public schools, must change

Hispanics Largest Growing Population In Idaho

By Associated Press BOISE -

Idaho's Hispanic population grew three times faster than the state as a whole in the first two years after the last census.

Leaders of the state's largest minority say that puts more pressure on public schools.

According to new estimates from the Census Bureau, the state grew at three-point-two percent overall from mid-2000 to mid-2002, with the Hispanic population jumping ten-point-six percent. Only 13 other states saw higher percentage growth in their Hispanic groups.

Gladys Esquibel, who heads the state Commission on Hispanic Affairs, says Idaho schools must change to address the needs of Hispanic students. The latest results from the state standards achievement tests show that more than half of Hispanic high school sophomores failed.

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Montgomery To Allow Use Of Consular IDs (MARYLAND)

Washington Times ^ | 9.17.03 | Patrick Badgley

Montgomery to allow use of consular IDs

The Montgomery County Council yesterday unanimously voted to allow immigrants to use identification cards issued by foreign consulates to get social services from county departments.

The consular cards can be used by immigrants to enroll their children in schools and open bank accounts.

Care to see more articles of your government at work?

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