In recent decades, California has stood out among other states for its political dysfunction. Indeed, the Golden State has served for a while now as a cautionary example of where the nation as a whole could be heading. …
Yet somehow over the past year, the state has emerged as a model of moderation and progress. Political observers across the country have been impressed with the relative lack of acrimony, compared to the Congress and to California’s own recent past. The state has passed on-time, balanced budgets while swiftly enacting new laws on such issues as education financing, immigration, and gun control. What changed? CONT.
Seth Masket (U. of Denver), Pacific Standard