10 ms·

Genuine question: what state government would you look to for a better model?

kaesar14 6y ago
Not many states are in the position California is. No matter how poorly run the state might be, people are unlikely to leave due to existing business and weather. Hard to compare.
- beamatronic 6y ago
  Exactly Californians will succeed no matter what the government does.
  - manigandham 6y ago
    What's that mean exactly? There are a lot of people having a hard time in this state.
- malandrew 6y ago
  This. It's basically a hostage situation. With the exception of not enforcing non-competes, I can't think of a single thing that makes California great that is the result of government. Hollywood is there because of the weather. The central valley is there because of the weather and the soil. The tech industry is there because of the defense industry in WWII and the importance of the west coast to the war effort in the Pacific. There almost 1000 miles of beautiful coast and some of the best National Parks and National Forests in the country are in California. The geography and the weather is the root of why California is successful. That has attracted and kept talent and created a positive feedback loop between talent and natural resources. The California government has the luxury of being able to be the most mismanaged because they don't even have to try. Tax money is abundant from all the economic activity and they have captive industries that would have a hard time relocating elsewhere.
  - georgeecollins 6y ago
    I could not disagree more. I work for a film company and believe me Hollywood has had nothing to do with the weather for fifty years. Very little is actually shot on location in Los Angeles, yet it remains a center. Silicon Valley is because of the defense industry in WW2? OK sure, but then why not Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia etc. The aerospace industry was in Los Angeles, but that moved, so why couldn't tech move? Here is my alternate hypothesis: California has always been relatively welcoming to people from all around the world. Places like San Francisco (in particular) and Los Angeles have a very long history of being accepting of new ideas, religions, different ethnicity. Not completely, just more than a lot of other places in the US. So it has been a place where people with new ideas come. As far as the state government-- yeah it could be better. But so could a lot of states. It is not clear to me that California is a worse run state than many others. Still we all should expect improvement.
    - malandrew 6y ago
      > Hollywood has had nothing to do with the weather for fifty years. It simply wouldn't be there in the first place had the weather not been as good as it was. Part of the reason you're now seeing other cities blossom in importance in film has to do with weather no longer being as important. What continues to be important that preserves Hollywood is the concentration of talent, which itself still has as its root the great weather that helped the industry establish itself there in the first place. While the weather may no longer be as important, it's the "natural resource" that made the region the epicenter of film in the first place. > Silicon Valley is because of the defense industry in WW2? OK sure, but then why not Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia etc. The aerospace industry was in Los Angeles, but that moved, so why couldn't tech move? I mentioned this exactly in the comment you're replying to and you ignored it. There was exactly one thing California got right and that is not enforcing non-compete agreements. This is why Fairchild Semiconductor spawned an entire industry and why companies like DEC around Route 128 did not. > Here is my alternate hypothesis: California has always been relatively welcoming to people from all around the world. Agree. But government has absolutely nothing to do with that. The California government is no different than a trust fund kid failing upwards.
Dirlewanger 6y ago
Ones where people aren't mass emigrating from, to start.
- Barrin92 6y ago
  you won't find many because only Michigan and Texas have smaller departure rates as a percentage of their population, and California remains the most popular state for international immigrants in the US.
beamatronic 6y ago
I’ve always wondered what is the best-run state
manigandham 6y ago
If you're asking for better run states, it looks like Texas is doing well but I'm unfamiliar with most other states to give you a good answer. As 20 year California resident, what I do know is that nothing has gotten better here over that time frame. Everything from infrastructure to taxes to city planning is much worse now than ever. CCPA is probably the only good outcome I can think of.
- MAGZine 6y ago
  The state that scared uber and lyft off with background requirements, fingerprinting, and restricting bikelanes? I think maybe the grass is just greener.
  - manigandham 6y ago
    I agree with those policies so it counts as better run for me. As far as I can tell, Uber and Lyft do operate in Texas today so it looks like everything worked out?
    - MAGZine 6y ago
      Yeah, they're operating again. I have little doubt that Uber and Lyft will continue to operate in california once they a) adjust their business model to pay people appropriately (they seem to be able to roll out new software quite quickly) and b) stop throwing a tantrum (which is what happened in austin). California is one of USA's biggest markets. Even if they don't get their shit together, one of CA's many entrepreneurs will. Who wants free VC bucks?
  - chasd00 6y ago
    It was the City of Austin that scared off Uber and Lyft for a time not the state. Lots of West coasters came to Austin and brought their political problems with them. The City of Austin is CA lite basically.
- infecto 6y ago
  Same sentiment here as well. Its a tangent but I feel like we get the least benefit from the highest taxes. Possibly some of the worst roads in the country with outdated and dangerous interstate designs because cars are bad and public transit is good but there is no public transit. =/

Not many states are in the position California is. No matter how poorly run the state might be, people are unlikely to leave due to existing business and weather. Hard to compare.

beamatronic 6y ago
Exactly Californians will succeed no matter what the government does.
- manigandham 6y ago
  What's that mean exactly? There are a lot of people having a hard time in this state.
malandrew 6y ago
This. It's basically a hostage situation. With the exception of not enforcing non-competes, I can't think of a single thing that makes California great that is the result of government. Hollywood is there because of the weather. The central valley is there because of the weather and the soil. The tech industry is there because of the defense industry in WWII and the importance of the west coast to the war effort in the Pacific. There almost 1000 miles of beautiful coast and some of the best National Parks and National Forests in the country are in California. The geography and the weather is the root of why California is successful. That has attracted and kept talent and created a positive feedback loop between talent and natural resources. The California government has the luxury of being able to be the most mismanaged because they don't even have to try. Tax money is abundant from all the economic activity and they have captive industries that would have a hard time relocating elsewhere.
- georgeecollins 6y ago
  I could not disagree more. I work for a film company and believe me Hollywood has had nothing to do with the weather for fifty years. Very little is actually shot on location in Los Angeles, yet it remains a center. Silicon Valley is because of the defense industry in WW2? OK sure, but then why not Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia etc. The aerospace industry was in Los Angeles, but that moved, so why couldn't tech move? Here is my alternate hypothesis: California has always been relatively welcoming to people from all around the world. Places like San Francisco (in particular) and Los Angeles have a very long history of being accepting of new ideas, religions, different ethnicity. Not completely, just more than a lot of other places in the US. So it has been a place where people with new ideas come. As far as the state government-- yeah it could be better. But so could a lot of states. It is not clear to me that California is a worse run state than many others. Still we all should expect improvement.
  - malandrew 6y ago
    > Hollywood has had nothing to do with the weather for fifty years. It simply wouldn't be there in the first place had the weather not been as good as it was. Part of the reason you're now seeing other cities blossom in importance in film has to do with weather no longer being as important. What continues to be important that preserves Hollywood is the concentration of talent, which itself still has as its root the great weather that helped the industry establish itself there in the first place. While the weather may no longer be as important, it's the "natural resource" that made the region the epicenter of film in the first place. > Silicon Valley is because of the defense industry in WW2? OK sure, but then why not Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia etc. The aerospace industry was in Los Angeles, but that moved, so why couldn't tech move? I mentioned this exactly in the comment you're replying to and you ignored it. There was exactly one thing California got right and that is not enforcing non-compete agreements. This is why Fairchild Semiconductor spawned an entire industry and why companies like DEC around Route 128 did not. > Here is my alternate hypothesis: California has always been relatively welcoming to people from all around the world. Agree. But government has absolutely nothing to do with that. The California government is no different than a trust fund kid failing upwards.

Dirlewanger 6y ago

Ones where people aren't mass emigrating from, to start.

Barrin92 6y ago
you won't find many because only Michigan and Texas have smaller departure rates as a percentage of their population, and California remains the most popular state for international immigrants in the US.

beamatronic 6y ago

I’ve always wondered what is the best-run state

manigandham 6y ago

If you're asking for better run states, it looks like Texas is doing well but I'm unfamiliar with most other states to give you a good answer. As 20 year California resident, what I do know is that nothing has gotten better here over that time frame. Everything from infrastructure to taxes to city planning is much worse now than ever. CCPA is probably the only good outcome I can think of.

MAGZine 6y ago
The state that scared uber and lyft off with background requirements, fingerprinting, and restricting bikelanes? I think maybe the grass is just greener.
- manigandham 6y ago
  I agree with those policies so it counts as better run for me. As far as I can tell, Uber and Lyft do operate in Texas today so it looks like everything worked out?
  - MAGZine 6y ago
    Yeah, they're operating again. I have little doubt that Uber and Lyft will continue to operate in california once they a) adjust their business model to pay people appropriately (they seem to be able to roll out new software quite quickly) and b) stop throwing a tantrum (which is what happened in austin). California is one of USA's biggest markets. Even if they don't get their shit together, one of CA's many entrepreneurs will. Who wants free VC bucks?
- chasd00 6y ago
  It was the City of Austin that scared off Uber and Lyft for a time not the state. Lots of West coasters came to Austin and brought their political problems with them. The City of Austin is CA lite basically.
infecto 6y ago
Same sentiment here as well. Its a tangent but I feel like we get the least benefit from the highest taxes. Possibly some of the worst roads in the country with outdated and dangerous interstate designs because cars are bad and public transit is good but there is no public transit. =/