Red Cali

An article comparing modern California with the final days of the Soviet Union:

As with the old party bosses in Russia, [Governor] Brown’s distinct lack of courage has only worsened California’s lurch toward fiscal and economic disaster. Yet as the budget woes worsen, other Californians, including some Democrats, are beginning to recognize the need for perestroika in the Golden State. This was most evident in the overwhelming vote last week in two key cities, San Diego and San Jose, to reform public employee pensions, a huge reversal after decades of ever more expansive public union power in the state.

California’s “progressive” approach has been enshrined in what is essentially a one-party state that is almost Soviet in its rigidity and inability to adapt to changing conditions. With conservatives, most businesses and taxpayer advocates marginalized, California politics has become the plaything of three powerful interest groups: public-sector unions, the Bay Area/Silicon Valley elite and the greens. Their agendas, largely unrestrained by serious opposition, have brought this great state to its knees.

While the comparison may seem a bit fatuous at first glance, it's actually quite valid. Like the old Soviet system, the enforced liberalism of California is both unsustainable and self-defeating. If Brown doesn't make the necessary hard choices -- and I'm absolutely certain he won't -- someone else will. Eventually.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the schadenfreude of watching the enviro-tards and wild-eyed Berkleyites as the harsh reality of economics forces them to wallow in their own shit.