As San Bernardino, CA filed for bankruptcy today and it became the third one to do so (Vallejo and Stockton were the others), I can not help think, what is happening to this state of such endless hopes, dreams and beauty. I recently visited Northern California and it is one of the most beautiful places in the world and an amazing place to live. The climate is great and within 2-3 hours of San Francisco you can be in wine country, Big Sur or Lake Tahoe. I know there are earthquakes and wildfires but every place in the world has some risk where the place is amazing to live.
That being said....the state is going bankrupt and to hide their issues they cram down mandates and tax issues on the municipalities. That is why you are starting to see certain cities who were crushed the real estate collapse and the weak economy go bankrupt. I actually think this is a good thing as bankruptcy is far from ideal, but it should result in a cleansing of the system. The real issue here is that the most populous state in the union and the 8th largest economy in the world (yes is that big) is in dire financial straits and their government is a bureaucratic nightmare. They continue to raise taxes on the wealthy and the middle class (sales tax highest in the nation) and refuse to cut spending to create a more stable financial future.
It is just sad that a state that is one of the most beautiful and wealthiest places on Earth, can not get their house in order. I still want to move their one day and I wont give up on my California dreaming.....but it needs to get better there before my dreams come true!