California Journal

Even in this era of dwindling public resources, California can take significant steps to encourage its residents to save and invest in themselves. The following are a sampling of cost-effective, asset-building policies. Most are from other states, which are ahead of California in this emerging policy area. These recommendations would bolster the economic security of the state and its 35 million residents.

California is a Garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see;

But believe it or not, you won't find is so hot

If you ain't got the do re mi

--Woody Guthrie (1937)

California's leaders need to cut a new deal with struggling families: If you're willing to work and save, we'll help you own a private investment account, accumulate wealth and control your own economic future. And to California's kids, leaders should say: We'll get you started on a path of saving and investment from the day you are born, make sure your school teaches you how this economy works, but it's up to you to make smart investments in your future when you turn 18.

California's Great Disconnect:
The Governed and the Government
David Lesher, California Program Director

Slice 'N Dice:
Smaller Legislative Districts Will Yield More Lawmakers, More Accountability and Better Decision Making
Heather Barbour, Fellow

California may be the nation's super-state, but Los Angeles ranks as the dominant metropolis of the western United States, and only the second western city among the world's 10 largest. In some senses, its importance on the global stage, and within the context of the United States, surpasses that of the entire state of California.

On Election Day, California voters narrowly rejected a ballot initiative -- Proposition 72 -- that would have required businesses with 50 or more employees to provide health insurance to their workers or contribute financially to a state health insurance pool.

It's no longer news to anyone that Californians are mixing across ethnic and racial lines like never before. Over the past generation, the social barriers to intermarriage have steadily eroded. Indeed, it has become commonplace for analysts and commentators to point to the state's racially and ethnically-mixed future. Within a few generations, so goes the refrain, the average Californian will be an ethnic amalgam with equal parts Asian, Latino, black and Anglo ancestries.

It may seem incredible, but supposedly blue-state California is hemorrhaging Democrats.

Since 1990, when a majority of voters were registered Democrats, the party's share of the electorate has dropped to just 43 percent today. In fact, even as the state has grown, the number of Democratic voters has shrunk. There are about 100,000 fewer Democrats today than there were nearly 10 years ago, even though there are nearly 2 million more voters.

California's political institutions and practices are outdated and no longer reflect the vibrancy and diversity of our state in the 21st century. Key political institutions are badly in need of an overhaul to make them better suited for the new California and its wide range of attitudes, demographics and geographic regions.

Unless California invests deeply in university research and its "knowledge-intensive" industries, its dominance as the world's high-tech powerhouse could be at risk.