California The Hideous

Over at Little Green Footballs, MikeySDCA posted a portion of a column by conservative historian Victor Davis Hanson:

The last three weeks I have traveled about, taking the pulse of the more forgotten areas of central California. I wanted to witness, even if superficially, what is happening to a state that has the highest sales and income taxes, the most lavish entitlements, the near-worst public schools (based on federal test scores), and the largest number of illegal aliens in the nation, along with an overregulated private sector, a stagnant and shrinking manufacturing base, and an elite environmental ethos that restricts commerce and productivity without curbing consumption.

California is a nightmare state. When I moved there in 2008, the state could still brag about a relatively sanguine reputation as one of the most robust economies in the world on its own. It wasn’t hard to find a job even in the midst of finishing a Bachelor’s Degree. However, you feel a pretty substantial lurch toward the bottom relatively fast, as if the global economic crisis just accelerated the problems the state has been putting aside for decades.

Hanson’s criticisms are all apt, and I would add that the liberalism of the Bay Area is very different from the liberalism of, say, Portland, Seattle or Vancouver in that it is very symbolic. Despite substantial diversity in the area, there’s alot of self-segregation on all sides going on so actual problem solving toward income equality doesn’t really occur. There is a famous book called Stuff White People Like, which can be found for sale in alot of East Bay bookstores, that savages “San Francisco” as one of the favorite bastions of white liberals:

However, it is important to be aware of the fact that regions outside of San Francisco feature many people who are not white, gay or Asian. They are greatly appreciated during the census, but white people are generally very happy that they stay in places like Oakland and Richmond. This enables white people to feel good about living near people of diverse backgrounds without having to directly deal with troublesome issues like income gaps or schooling.

The decline is not just symbolic. Berkeley looks more like a once college town than a town that hosts the world’s greatest minds of the present. Trust me, take a trip there and you’ll be shocked or at least surprised.

Throughout the entire Bay Area and California, there is wealth generation and not simply consumption. The most vibrant business areas I experienced were those filled with immigrants from Latin America, who had come there without any of the assurances that the “natives” of the Blue or Red electoral portions of the states had. To hear their blood, sweet and hard work torn through the mud by the likes of a Meg Whitman (who had the disgusting gall to employ an undocumented worker while pandering to the Nativist Right) was enough to drive me to put full effort into mine and PunkJohnnyCash’s website Voice of the Migrant. Immigrants have been the lifeblood and regenerative force of America for its entire history and will be again for California, even against an indiginous poor and rich who are complacent or comfortable with their position.

The real start up businesses are the taco trucks in Emeryville or near Oakland’s Fruitvale Bart station, which for some reason the local government is too gung ho about ending on behalf of its more established businesses. The dialectical cycle of revolution is thus that one day the Hispanic business owners and entrepreneurs being bombarded with animosity will one day be the establishment, but for now the battle is their own and they are the hope for a prosperous California.

Cross posted at Voice of the Migrant.