The problem with our legislature is three fold. 1) We have safe political districts. The political districts are uncompetitive in the general elections. The

The problem with our legislature is three fold. 1) We have safe political districts. The political districts are uncompetitive in the general elections. The only worry they have in getting reelected is if they don't appeal to the core of their party and are opposed in the primary. This leads to the most active, the most idea logical and the more fringe elements of the party deciding who our representatives will be. The people being elected are unwilling to compromise and so cannot find practical solutions. 2) We have term limits. The politicians do not have institutional memory and do not seek long term solutions to the problems. They are looking to move up to a more powerful position or at least they want to return home with a greater network of connections. So they spend every dime they can find and borrow as much as they can and are not there when the bills come due. The lobbyists do have institutional memories and are seeking long term solutions to their problems, not what is in the best interest of the state. 3) Proposition 13 Prop 13 was a tax-cutting measure that took care of the problem of property taxes skyrocketing as home values skyrocketed. This caused people to not be able to afford their homes any longer, not because they couldn't pay the mortgage, but because they couldn't pay the taxes . But it hit local governments especially hard. Key budgeting authority devolved from cities and counties up to Sacramento, where they have to compete with the state government for money. You want your streets paved or more teachers for your third grade? Stand in line behind the health department, or the corrections department, or Caltrans. And then the state borrows (takes?) the money it is supposed to send back to the cities and counties for it's own uses. California is not ungovernable -- it's just been ungoverned.