Sometimes I think there are two Californias out there. One of them is the California of small things and small thinking. It's the California that is obsessed with petty anti-tax politics. The one that wants to gut social programs and dismantle our public higher education system. It thrives on driving wedges between us and promoting divisiveness.
It's the California of Proposition 187 (cutting services to illegal immigrants), Nixon, Reagan and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. It includes a lot of people who hate government but are the first to complain when the garbage isn't picked up.
The other California is the California of bold ideas and dreams of a better future. It's the California that wants to conserve and protect its unique and beautiful state parks and wilderness, wishes to invest in its people and seeks common ground amid diversity.
It's the California of Proposition 215 (legalizing medical marijuana), John Muir, Cesar Chavez and Harvey Milk. It's the California that recognizes the vital role that our public colleges and universities play in laying the foundation for the state's future.
Sadly, the clear winner in recent years has been the California of small things and small ideas. Through an outdated flaw in the structure of governance, one-third of the Legislature has a stranglehold on the state's finances. The other two-thirds (the majority) knows the state is heading in the wrong direction. Yet given its lack of control over the purse strings, it's left flailing around