California – Failure of a State

Nativists blame it on ‘dirty illegal immigrants.’ Economists are quick to point out the crash as part of a larger recessionary period that the global economy is undergoing. Politicians groan that California’s budget crisis is really Prop 13, an anti-tax measure that not only put a cap on property taxes but also requires 66% of the legislature approval to pass a budget.

It’s a little bit more complicated than that when Mark Yudof, the President of the failing University of California system, is compensated over $800K per year while students are forced to pay 33% in fee increases and thousands of teachers lose their jobs. It is a smart play: make a good public education almost unaffordable for the majority of people so when things go from bad to worse, only a few labeled as ‘Marxists’ can really explain why things are so terrible.

Supply-side economics–a neo-liberal experiment now extending to three decades–only works for the supply-side of the equation. Deregulation and privatization of public goods while making deep cuts into the social sector has led us down this path. Corporate tax loopholes are increasing while cuts to the public sector are deepening. Not everyone is suffering equally.

The state of California is not a failure–it is failing to take care of its ‘plebs.’ The rich are still getting richer.

I don’t know how this story ends. Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost.