California, once known as the Golden State, is now quite tarnished, losing millions of residents and businesses, fleeing for a better way of life. No more is “California Callin” as the Beach Boys sang, or “California Dreamin” as the Mamas and Papas made famous.
“California Sucks” by Screeching Weasel is more accurate:
California sucks
It’s worse than old New York
Filled with scum and wealthy worms
And stupid surfing dorks
Hot tubs and Jacuzzi’s
And swaying green palm trees
Rock stars, assholes, sleazy broads
And smog that makes you sneeze
California sucks
All the people there are fake
They can buy their plastic lives
With all the cash they make
California movie stars
Strung out on sleeping pills
No, I’ve never been there
You can bet I never will
California sucks
Just look who you’ve produced
Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown
And countless other fools
West Coast sun-tanned morons
You don’t know how to think
Can’t wait ’til your state erodes
And falls into the drink
Sadly, Screeching Weasel got it right.
However, as right as Screeching Weasel was when they wrote “California Sucks” in 1987, they could not have anticipated how bad California would get:
- highest-in-the-nation taxes;
- affordable housing crisis;
- a faux political water shortage;
- a faux political energy crisis with rolling blackouts;
- environmentalists determining statewide policies;
- hundreds of thousands of zombie-like homeless drug addicts living on city streets, parks, along rivers, and under freeways;
- the mass exodus of Big Tech from the Bay Area and Silicon Valley (Oracle, Tesla, Hewlett Packard, Pinterest, Digital Realty);
- the destroyed freelance and gig economy because of Assembly Bill 5;
- the 10-month lockdown resulting in hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of small business closures and bankruptcies; still-closed public schools, colleges and universities;
- the failing public school system – Kindergarten through university;
- unfunded public employee pension and long-term healthcare debt of more than $1 trillion;
- 200,000+ illegal aliens (California currently covers about 200,000 unauthorized immigrant children and young adults, according to the state Department of Health Care Services);
- state unemployment agency failed to send legitimate unemployment checks to the millions of unemployed residents, sending more than $10 billion in fraudulent claims to felons in prison and jail, and out of state;
- a DMV which can’t issue drivers licenses or car registrations, but registers illegal aliens to vote;
- So-called criminal justice “reforms” which have served to increase crime;
- Unconstitutional anti-gun laws;
- public employee labor unions dominate and drive politics;
- fawning, corrupted California media.
And all of this, every step of the way, has been implemented by Democrat politicians.
With the Biden/Harris administration looking to California “as the de facto policy think tank,” as the Los Angeles Times reported, the rest of the country is likely cringing.
The enviable California way of life is gone. California cities are dangerous and violent. The chasm between the “haves” and “have-nots” has grown exponentially with the exodus of middle class taxpayers, business owners and retirees fleeing for freer states.
California’s influence—dominance, even—in Washington politics is no accident. But it’s even worse because of the undue influence of San Francisco’s unhinged politics and politicians: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, Rep. Jackie Speier, Rep. Ro Khanna, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Anna Eshoo, Rep. Jared Huffman, and Rep. Mike Thompson — all Democrats in Congress from California, from the San Francisco Bay Area.
It won’t be long before the rest of Congress and the rest of the country is fed up with California “as the de facto policy think tank,” and pray that Screeching Weasels’ were prophetic: “Can’t wait ’til your state erodes, And falls into the drink.”
(Katy Grimes is a native Californian. And Screeching Weasel guitarist Jughead is an occasional contributor to our sister publication Rock and Roll Globe.)
View Comments (28)
I love lists that name names of Democrat politicians and lists of their destruction that have sent once-golden California tipping into the ocean over the past many years. Makes very clear and concise what these politicians have done to us and how far they have beaten this state down. It didn't have to be this way, did it? 1987 seems like halcyon days compared to now. The Screeching Weasels were prescient, I guess.
Comrades
.....by the way.....add domestic terroist to your titles....that no fly, walk, run list will be huge...
Born and raised Californian. 2021 will be the year I will seriously explore other states to reside. I absolutely love the geography and weather California offers. But I truly despise what California has become at the hands of the Democrat supermajority. I don't know if the majority of my fellow citizens actually voted for Newsom, but I am dumbfounded that the recall effort still has yet to reach the minimum signature limit. I do not know if the average California citizen is too stupid, ignorant or accepting of the current state of California. What I do know is that I can move and accept the tradeoffs of temperate weather for an overall increase in quality of life. I just need to find a fool that will purchase my home for a million more that it's worth...in California fools are easy to come by.
Been thinking the same thing about leaving CA. But with the Dems/leftists in control of all three branches of govt in DC, will there be anywhere to move to escape them?
Yes, it appears that the average California citizen is too stupid, ignorant or accepting of the current state of California and the rest of the USA? Yesterday I went to the 24 Hour Fitness facility in Roseville. Since indoor gyms are closed due to Gov. Newsom's COVID dictates, 24 Hour Fitness Management has erected a large tent in a portion of their parking lot and moved some exercise equipment into it so that members can exercise during certain hours. Members are required to wear facial masks (aka muzzles) at all times and management limits the number of members who can be inside the tent at one time. While I was on an exercise machine this older white guy wanders up to another older white guy who was next to me and told him that he got the best birthday present in the world with the election of Joe Biden and with the election of the two Democrat senators in Georgia. The two agreed that it was such a great thing that happened. California seems to be filled with clueless tools like those two?
@Tony Guzman, thank you for sharing your experience. Yes, California is full of these fools and parasites. Enlightenment will never touch people despite obvious policy failures that are utterly destroying our once beautiful and prosperous state. I'm 60 and was blessed with a never quit work ethic, decent education and opportunities only possible where entrepreneurial spirit is not oppressed. The "tools" use describe are "useful idiots" and will never realize how destructive they are peace, freedom, liberty and individual pursuit of happiness. I love our Country and despise our government.
@JF1962, you do make very good point. In my calculus, the need to be in a move conservative community and state and not paying anymore excessive CA state income taxes to fuel more stupidity and corruption are becoming much more important to me. On a practical level, the excessive taxes are infringing upon my freedom. Examples: I am about to pay my car registration fee (tax): $651. If I lived in Idaho $69.30. CA energy is 5 times the national average. CA water rates are 3 times the national average. If I interrupt your "1962" in your handle correctly, we are about the same age. I was born in 1960. If I moved, I have the expectations that my quality of life and daily interactions with fellow citizens could be much higher. I will use this next year to seriously explore two alternative states through an extended visits. No harm in a vacation to do a little recon.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Thanks to Southwest Airlines, add me to the ever growing list of those exploring greener pastures and dropping the first syllable of my handle...
Nice place to vacation, but to live under the boot of crazed, stupid a-holes like Newsom, Pelosi, Weiner, Gonzalez, Becerra or Ting???
There must be something seriously wrong with San Francisco water because the people that come from there are a special stupid breed...
#GottaGedOuddaDisplace
http://www.recallgavin2020.com
Economic expatriation will see red states turn blue, and the movers question their decision. One thing that Calif has going for it, is that it happens here first. If you have moved to Podunk two-lane America, be patient, the trend will get there,; there is no escape. Enjoy the weather.
Maybe, eventually. Especially in turning states -- TX, FL, AZ, for instance.
But some states are solid red, and will remain so for one or more decades. WY, ND, TN are my recommendations.
And even if they flip eventually, they'll always be less authoritarian and tyrannical than CA. They simply won't be able to catch up.
Be sure to NEVER live in a large city. Almost all are Democrat controlled.
@RichardRider, you have a thoughtful and inciteful mind. Thank you for articulating your thoughts and perspectives through your blog. I will follow you.
I haven't thought of that song in decades. You nailed it, Kathy (as usual -- love your writing), and for all those reasons I left California last year and moved to Florida. Our Republican Governor DeSantis is great.
Before the nation is modeled after California, it would be wise for such thinkers to first read my dreary, annotated, updated fact sheet --comparing CA with the rest of America on 35 economic criteria.
http://www.TinyURL.com/CA-vs-other-states
Oh my leave it to a punk rock band to sing truth!????
Yes, ShowandTell, if only we knew back in 1987 we were living in the golden ages, now the golden state is getting more tarnished by the minute.
@Owednothing, if only you could convince your wife not to go down with a sinking ship????
Where to go? With the new installed White House administration, the rest of the country will soon be under the commie control of California type government.
@Richard Rider, I checked out your blog it is very informative and truthful. Thank you for sharing, I will look forward to reading your updates. Would it not be nice to someday see those tax rates plummet? One can dream.
@OneFedUpCaliGirl, yep, my wife is a hard sell to leave what is familiar. Our dance in the sun is brief and I need to carefully plot "vacations" to see more of our beautiful Country. Who knows, leaving CA may become her idea? Also thanks for the pointer to @Richarl Rider. I will have her read: http://riderrants.blogspot.com/2012/11/ca-vs-other-49-states-revised-11812.html. California Sucks!
Several years ago I was visiting family in New Mexico and they began bashing California and telling me I needed to move. Now, granted, this branch of the family has been trying to get me to move to (back) New Mexico for decades (I was born there). I was offended that they would insult MY beloved state, however, maybe things had to get bad enough for me to notice or to stop making excuses. I am now done. This isn't the beautiful state I grew up in. I've moved away many times, due to work, but always came back. Well, 2012 was my final return to the Golden State. I can't retire for another 14 years (ugh!) but as soon as I do, I will be leaving California as a resident forever. I'll come back for concerts, the beaches and other tourist-type things, but I won't live here ever again. I'm currently looking at buying land in New Mexico or Oklahoma and retiring there. Probably Oklahoma, if they are still a Republican state. New Mexico has, sadly, turned Democratic.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Add to the list -Failing infrastructure and garbage everywhere.