The Madness of California

There is an old saying in politics, that a democracy can only last until the citizens figure out they can vote themselves rich.

California is taking that truism a step further, an absurd step that was never contemplated before and may be a first in history: the state is voting other people rich.

With free health care for illegal immigrants and the proposal to allow illegals to apply for free house downpayment money  California is literally expanding the largess of the state to people who are not part of the state.

The premise goes beyond illegal immigrants – California has its own equivalent of “wet foot/dry foot” – a term initially used to describe the status of refugees from Castro’s Cuba – when it comes to societal and governmental benefits like residency.  A Cuban fleeing communism was still a Cuban while in the water – once they touched soil, they became part of America (a good thing, by the way, as they were actually fleeing brutal repression unlike the claims of so many illegals today.)

In California, the same idea applies to anyone who manages to get here for whatever reason, hence the massive explosion in the homelessness population.  Like illegal immigrants, vagrants from across the country can get stuff the moment they cross the state line.

Note: a homeless person in California, no matter where they are from or when they arrived – is entitled to Medi-Cal (cost about $750 per month per person,) food stamps (another $180 or so,) personal general assistance (a limited period of time but it works out a few grand,) and, of course, shelter, possibly even a free $800,000 studio apartment, amongst other things.

It is true that most illegals do actually contribute something to the state’s economy, but study after study has shown it’s not even close to the cost of benefits like education, etc.

How this came to be should not surprise anyone.  California has been handing out freebies to its residents for years, with the available booty increasing exponentially in the past decade or so.

And since the woke legislators consider “no one illegal,” then, philosophically, the current actions are actually logical.  And maybe they’ll vote “somehow” so that’s a plus for the power structure handing out the freebies.

California is following the exact natural progression posited – probably; there seems to be a bit of debate on that subject but, considering his other work, in fits perfectly with his theoretical constructs – by Alexander Fraser Tytler, a Scottish aristocrat, lawyer, and historian who lived 250 years ago:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.” 

There’s even a picture of the Tytler cycle:

So where does California fit in that graphic?

Somewhere between apathy and dependence, it would appear, but it must be noted again that even this grim and dim view of human nature and its impacts on a democracy did not even contemplate the unthinkable tangent of giving stuff to other people to hasten the demise.

And trying to get out of the cycle until it has run its course is nearly impossible – the plebs of Rome would not have tolerated fewer breads and circuses, the modern California voter will not tolerate getting less stuff and changing that stance has proven to be nearly impossible in the past, anywhere on the globe.

It is human nature to feel empathy and to desire to help when possible.  It is not human nature to give so much to others that one ends up with nothing.

But that is the nature of California’s governing classes and cliques and cabals.  And, as a bonus, they have realized one neat trick about the process:  you’re giving away other people’s (or even notional) money anyway, so what’s the problem?

Then you have to pay the bill and it all comes crashing down.