Heard a few days ago that California is in severe financial strife, and is literally dishing out IOUs instead of payments.
I would suggest the problems stem directly from their great experiment with democracy. Citizen initiated referenda have been long touted, but short on fulfillment.
The way Californians have voted on a string of taxation propositions demonstrates that they don't want taxes.
No, they are not radical libertarians. It's just that voters, as a mass, act irrationally. Very clearly, they want to have their cake and eat it too.
In New Zealand in the 1980s, the government proposed to ban all US nuclear ships from its ports. Since the US was running a 'neither confirm nor deny' policy on their nuclear capabilities, that would have effectively meant banning all US ships. In turn, that would put the kybosh on the long-standing ANZUS alliance.
That road was clear. Of course, polling showed that the majority of New Zealanders wanted nuclear ships kept out, but also wanted to maintain the alliance.
There are times when good leadership is called for, to bring the populace along with them. Don't expect voters to successfully micro-manage
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