4 ms·

That's always been a popular theory but if you look at the facts it's not really true. Yes things in central California are bad but the worst city in Californi

That's always been a popular theory but if you look at the facts it's not really true. Yes things in central California are bad but the worst city in California (and the one cited in the article) is Stockton which is Northern California by any measure (it's further north than San Francisco). Looking at the Forbes list posted in this thread only 2 of the 8 California cities listed as "most miserable" are in Central California (and that list doesn't include the miserable unincorporated areas bordering Mexico where unemployment is in the 30% range) The other part of the article focuses on California's budget problems. Now without getting into an argument over which political philosophy is better there are two political facts that are not in doubt... 1. Central California is very Republican 2. Republicans have not been in control of the state legislature for AT LEAST 30 years So whatever problems we have in the state government can largely be traced back to Northern and Southern California (though the California Republicans do get an honorable mention for mismanaging their local cities and stirring up trouble whenever a 2/3rd majority is needed)

bugsy 16y ago
"Central California is very Republican" The voters might be but not the population, most of whom are not US citizens. Only US citizens get to vote. I lived in a couple of places in the central valley and have spent quite a bit of time in the area, so don't try to pull a fast one, I know how it is there. Tons of drugs, despair, organized crime, and the crime gangs pay the police, who are corrupt. A big industry is running prisons, a boom economy for the guards who make a fortune shaking down prisoners to deliver them drugs, phones, and contraband.
- TomOfTTB 16y ago
  The point I was making was that they had very little control over the state government because they elect republicans. So only the voters are relative to that argument. Beyond that your evidence is all anecdotal. There are certainly cities that are as you describe but there are also a lot of cities with perfectly nice communities (Coalinga, Frazier Park, Clovis and others). I don't think either of us has the statistical evidence to know which scenario is the norm
  - bugsy 16y ago
    No one is saying that there are no good cities! That was the whole point of my other post, the article wrongly extrapolates some miserable cities to a miserable state, which is obviously an incorrect conclusion. But there are a lot of really crappy towns in California as well and they've gotten worse the last 20 years.

bugsy 16y ago

"Central California is very Republican" The voters might be but not the population, most of whom are not US citizens. Only US citizens get to vote. I lived in a couple of places in the central valley and have spent quite a bit of time in the area, so don't try to pull a fast one, I know how it is there. Tons of drugs, despair, organized crime, and the crime gangs pay the police, who are corrupt. A big industry is running prisons, a boom economy for the guards who make a fortune shaking down prisoners to deliver them drugs, phones, and contraband.

TomOfTTB 16y ago
The point I was making was that they had very little control over the state government because they elect republicans. So only the voters are relative to that argument. Beyond that your evidence is all anecdotal. There are certainly cities that are as you describe but there are also a lot of cities with perfectly nice communities (Coalinga, Frazier Park, Clovis and others). I don't think either of us has the statistical evidence to know which scenario is the norm
- bugsy 16y ago
  No one is saying that there are no good cities! That was the whole point of my other post, the article wrongly extrapolates some miserable cities to a miserable state, which is obviously an incorrect conclusion. But there are a lot of really crappy towns in California as well and they've gotten worse the last 20 years.