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In defense of California
By Charles Martin | January 12, 2009
There was an interesting headline on yahoo today.
This makes all my friends in other states chuckle I’m sure.
California is still the promised land. It’s a matter of knowing how to handle yourself through thick and thin. All things being equal, (50 states that ALL go through tough times) I’d rather be in this meteorological climate, this business climate, and among people that aren’t afraid to take the highest of risks for the highest of rewards, which is what California offers.
I work with people from all over the country day to day. In that work, the central theme is usually negativity. When a good idea comes up the chain that might need a tweak or two, there’s always 3 people on the conference call to shoot it down. Those people, by and large, are in the eastern part of our country. I lived in New York and Boston for many years and I remember the same thread being a part of the psyche then. People brag about the common sense side of things when it comes to your hard-nosed New Yorker, but that can go too far too.
Sure, our state is broke. Many states are. Sure, our politics are wacky. I think this results from people doing unorthodox things in a special environment that uses the rest of the country as it’s focus group. We like you negative east coasters as our litmus testers and truly you like our products and ideas as they hit your ears (ipod), living rooms (innovative technology), driveway (EVERY car maker designs in California almost exclusively) and palate (we represent 65% of America’s salad bowl and 85% of wine production).
Since this is my year of love, I’d have to say I’ve learned a lot from California and have been moved by the different people and different cultures I’ve encountered. Sure, I have my differences with some of them, but a lot less than I had growing up in Texas. In California they are here to stay and, as per usual, your states are getting more and more culture changes that tend to move east from our shores so you blame us for that too.
The man in the article moving to Colorado can get ready for a state that will be 50% hispanic in 5 years. We get on board out here or we get left behind. It’s a good lesson for young people fresh out of college elbowing there way into jobs right now. You think you might work 10 minutes from home, but that job might just be gone. You might have to be prepared to move to LA LA land and argue your project to two [eastern] Indians, one African American, a Chinese boss, and an open homosexual. California is ALWAYS looking forward and there’s a sense of reality about that here, whether we like the way it happened or not.
We aren’t the state for everyone and that’s exactly why more people leave. I think if you look at the net-net over the last 30 years, we are on such a surplus that we could stand to weed out the naysayers and make more room for the committed. I want better streets and highways. I want lower property taxes which, btw, are lower than many states like Texas %-wise. Our new president may or may not work this out, but there’s a chance we will see an opposite notice in the headlines in 8 years. If you’re moving soon because you hate the state, then drop me a line and I’ll send you $2 on paypal to put towards a U-haul.
Finally, I’ll take today’s 85(o) freak weather instead of -35 windchill in N. Dakota how ’bout you?
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