California’s Decline Poses New Challenge
James Flanigan’s broadside that the “mess in the [state] capital could well signal something of historic significance” was well aimed and right on target (“Budget Mess Marks Turn for Worse -- or Better,” June 18).
Flanigan raises the question of whether California can, as in 1911 and 1945, regain the momentum to reverse its decline. He quotes economist Daniel J.B. Mitchell of UCLA, who said “few people are eager to invest in Argentina” because that country “has become a metaphor for economic and political instability.” An apt metaphor.
Yes, Flanigan is correct. Something “of historic significance” is taking place in California. What California is witnessing is its evolution into the nation’s first Third World state.
Joseph A. Lea
Mission Viejo
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