This liberal in a way hopes they don't come to any sort of agreement and the whole thing collapses. It's like GM and so many other institutions in this country that have all just reached the point where they can't go forward anymore and need to be destroyed so something more effective can take its place.

Powerful existing interests want to keep what they have won. State employees want to keep their salaries, pensions, and early retirement programs. Since these are not really available in the private sector anymore (defined contribution is the rule), they aren't needed to attract people to the public sector now. We can get the same for less, and should do so.

The other problem is ongoing transparency. Our elected officials, frankly as we have seen so amply demonstrated in the past several years at state and federal levels, can't be trusted to spend money wisely. Without knowing where they are sending money, how can we vote intelligently?

Finally, so many programs have been layered on top of one another that it is impossible for an average citizen to understand where all the money goes. This citizen certainly does not. But I want to. I want to know where every dollar goes. Provide access to spreadsheets with lists of recipients so we can see where the money goes. The recipients can have their names redacted, but I really want to know.

The only way out of this morass that has a hope of enduring for some time is to tear apart everything and start over. Simplify expenditures so they can be understood and tracked by an alert citizenry. Show which programs do not require proof of citizenship and how much money goes there to support or knock the support out of the contention that a lot of money goes to illegal aliens. Etc.

Finally, lobbying needs to occur in public. All conversations of our legislators should be available on YouTube or equivalent. The internet is an amazing tool that allows for all sorts of new means to observe what was previously opaque. There are plenty of interested citizens who have time and interest to observe.

We are at the end of the life of our old system of governing and allocation of funds. There is nowhere to go. We need to wind everything down to zero and start from scratch with new principles that are publicly known.

Lesson from Texas? The has the lowest spending rate per capita of all the states. While they purportedly have a surplus, that was achieved mostly by eliminating education from the state budget and passing the cost to communities via property taxes. See: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/legislature/stories/032609dntexstatebudget.3b2d0ca.html

"Californians are behaving as if the whole thing is out of their control. "

So exactly what would you like the average Californian to do? Both the cause and solution to this problem lies in the hands of the governor and the legislature. The average citizen of this state is just trying to make ends meet.

we'll get the last laugh on the red states, because as California goes, so goes the nation. We gave you Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and look where it lead you.

is a shithole. I've lived there and I'll never go back.

California's problem is a state government that tried to rule every aspect of the peoples' lives. This costs more money than the state has available. If the legislature won't prioritize its current revenue into the most vital functions (infrastructure, basic education) then the people will do it directly by initiative and referendum.

Just one small example: making a homeowner jump through several years of hoops to add a garage is spending money to PREVENT contractors and building suppliers from selling services and materials that would benefit the state's economy while generating tax revenue. Multiple that example by millions, and you have the reason for the state bankruptcy. Let the state file Chapter Nine and eBay its assets to those who will put them to more productive use.

Based on California's contributions to national politics, I'd say you probably know what you're talking about! What do IBM, AMD, Intel and plenty of other corporations know anyway!

We have property taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes. We all pay quite a bit in taxes.

So the solution is to raise taxes in a recession in which the state has high unemployment and already has high taxes? It seems that California residents want it all and have no discipline. I also do not understand how California has higher incomes, higher percentage of taxes, costly social programs, two large state university systems but yet the state has one of the higher unemployment rates and the state is bankrupt. Also, since the state is so liberal, then why does it have the highest prison population. Please, as California burns, do not come to my state, we enjoy low taxes and keeping the money we earn.

Firstly am I the only reader who thinks the author is incredibly biased? The Republicans are "anti-government anti-tax ideologues" while the Democrats are presumably responsible providers of government services to the people. When you start name calling only one side in a debate then you can hardly expect readers to believe the subsequent article is a meaningful analysis of the issue.

Secondly am I the only reader who is disgusted by the author's clear contempt for the democratic (as opposed to Democratic) process. In a democracy it is the right of all citizens to vote for those representatives whose views agree with theirs. The fact that those views differ from others or even the majority does not make them any less valid. The author clearly believes that only the views he supports has any merit and that the contrary views of others are impediments to his grand vision and should simply be abandoned by their believers.

Lastly I am compelled to point out that the author does not address the cause of California's budget crisis. California operated a balanced budget after Prop 13. However in the last economic cycle capital gains and other non-recurring income surged and filled the tax coffers. The politicians simply used this income, far in excess of the population growth or inflation, to create a new spending base line. This is not a debate between Republicans and Democrats but rather a fight between public sector unions and taxpayers.