Top 10 Reasons Not to Live in

California
by Lee Standberry

California is often portrayed as a great place to visit.

And certainly, there are many tourist attractions to see
and participate in. The weather is great and you can see
Mickey Mouse do his thing at Disneyland. However, it’s
best to have fun during a short stay and then be on your
way. Why? Simply, California has to be perhaps one of
the most hazardous places to live. If one were to
measure the odds, it would be very easy to conclude
that chance of some disaster befalling you is fairly high
(increasing in direct proportion to the duration of your
stay). Don’t believe me? Consider these top 10 reasons
NOT to live in California:
10. The Governor of the State is the Terminator
The man who has warned guys not to be a “girly man” is
the chief executive of the state of California- none other
than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Actors turned politicians
have mixed results (depending on who you talk to).
Under Governor Schwarzenegger’s reign, the state
of California has suffered through a number of trying
issues. Perhaps the most serious, and the ones that have
caused the most rancor among voters, are the economic
issues. With shrinking state revenues, budget tightening
has resulted in social programs being chopped, state jobs
being eliminated, and a need to increase state revenue
(higher taxes). All of this has many Californians
lamenting that the Governor has reverted to his
“Terminator” alter ego and is determined to extinguish all
life (or at least a comfortable life) in the state. (Note from
editor: Yes I am aware the video I included was taken
from Predator, not Terminator, but it was so good!)
9. Seasonal Disasters
Natural disasters seem to find consistent and continual
life in Cali. There are of course earthquakes. The
occasional shake is common enough that many
Californians don’t think much of it, aside from having to
replace the odd broken dish. Then of course, there are
ever-present brush fires. While there is not a high loss of
life with this particular disaster, there is a tremendous toll
in terms of property damage, not to mention severe
ecological damage. If an earthquake or a fire doesn’t get
you, then a mudslide might. There are a lot of hills and
elevated areas in California; when the seasonal rains
come, so does erosion. The result is the earth giving
way, with people and property being in the path when it
does. The results are devastating in terms of loss of life
and property damage. These are just some of the
common disasters that Californians have to deal with on
a regular basis.
8. Impending Horrific Earthquake
Keeping with the natural disaster theme: there is of
course the expected “big one” that many believe will
eventually hit California. The state of California has the
misfortune to lie over a major fault line (the San
Andreas). Experts predict that at some point in the future
there will be a major shift of tectonic plates resulting in a
catastrophic level earthquake. Along the lines of the
earthquake that leveled San Francisco in 1906, the next
“big one” is expected to be even more devastating due to
population and urban growth. If the recent earthquakes
in Haiti and Chile are any indication, then a major shake
hitting such populated areas as LA, San Diego and San
Francisco would have horrific consequences. What’s
scary about this is that scientists and experts warn that it
isn’t a matter of “if” this will happen, but rather “when.”
7. Will Eventually Fall Into the Ocean
This is more of a theory than an actual scientifically
proven fact, but this particular idea is so widespread and
believed that one has to take it into consideration. Some
have predicted that, as a result of the likely catastrophic
events in #8 above, California will somehow break off
from the mainland and sink into the ocean. Fortunately
for Californians, there doesn’t seem to be any hard data
to support this particular theory outside of Hollywood.
Even considering the very real tectonic activity, the
motion that these plates generate is horizontal (as
opposed to lateral, which could indicate a potential
‘dropping’ of land mass). In fact, the constant shifting of
the earth in the California area is along a north/south axis
– meaning that LA is slowly creeping towards San
Francisco at a whopping few millimeters a year. While
this bit of news may be problematic for Southern
Californians (in about a million years at the current rate
of speed), it certainly falls short of an apocalyptic event.
Assuming, of course, that the ‘experts’ are to be believed
(and they, naturally, are always right!)
6. High Taxes Make Life Unbearable
The state of California is suffering through a fiscal
nightmare. Simply, the state has more expenses than it
does revenue. For any able minded politician, one quick
fire solution (albeit an unpopular one) is to either raise
taxes, install new taxes, or a combination of both. While
voters have continually voted down higher tax proposals
that have made it to the ballot, California is still leading
the nation in a number of tax categories: income taxes
(2nd), corporate taxes (8th), and sales tax (13th), to name a
few. All total, the full tax load ranks 6th in the nation.
California’s heavy tax burden has caused concerns
among many about the financial ability of many families
to realistically reside in the state. Further, even with the
various taxes in place, the state’s budget has still
ballooned – outpacing revenues by a large margin. The
resulting disparity has crippled any number of programs,
especially those aimed at helping the poor – placing even
more people in potentially dire circumstances.
5. Hundreds of Prisoners Are Being Released
Because of Budget Constraints
Faced with shrinking funds, state legislators (and
apparently supported by the Terminator – we mean the
Governor) determined that the state could realize
tremendous savings by releasing thousands of prisoners
from state penal institutions early. The move is
estimated to save the state about $1.2 billion – not an
insignificant amount of money considering the prevalent
financial woes. California has the largest population of
prisoners among states, boasting well over 170,000
inmates. The proposal aims to release non-violent
offenders, including those that are sick and elderly.
Naturally, the best of plans tend to go awry when a
government entity is involved and dangerous prisoners
have been released – some of whom have committed
new crimes. Laws that were held as progressive in
previous years, such as the states so-called “three
strikes” have resulted in the vast overcrowding. Now,
faced with the inability to actually pay for these policies,
lawmakers are in a tough bind – a real “damned if you do,
damned if you don’t” situation.
4. Serious Gang Violence
Criminal gang activity is a very serious problem in
California: many neighborhoods are literally terrorized by
gang activity. Residents are victims of random drive-by
shootings, physical assaults and other criminal activities
perpetrated by gang members. Drug-related crime has
also proportionally increased as well. Families who
manage navigate these dangerous war zones face the
prospect of their children being recruited to join local
gangs. Aside from the more traditional gangs such as the
Bloods and Cripps, new (and some believe deadlier)
Hispanic gangs have entered into the fray. Fueled by
poor economic conditions, the increase in gang
participation is on the rise. As gang membership
increases, inter-gang violence has also become deadlier.
Reacting to the dangers that gang violence poses, law
enforcement and government officials have proposed and
enacted numerous programs to stem the tide. Only time
well tell if these measures are effective.
3. Liberal Culture is Harbinger of the Apocalypse
The end of times may be a bit of a reach, but those of the
conservative establishment do hearken to liberal culture
as the precursor of many of the social ills within our
communities. For its part, California has long been a
bastion of liberal (some would say progressive) thought
and action. Consider that California is very accepting of
alternative lifestyles, is environmentally conscious, and
not particularly religious (at least in terms of a dominant
block of religiosity)- and you have the makings of a
counter-culture stronghold. Indeed, many of the
universities in California (UCLA, UC Berkley and others)
were home to many of the social protests that highlighted
the social movements of the sixties. All of this is dire
evidence for those who tend to lean toward the more so-
called “traditional values” lifestyle. Many of this
perspective hold California up as the example of all that
is wrong in America – from ineffective government to high
crime – the state (from a conservative viewpoint) is on
the verge of collapse as result.
2. Police Brutality
While the saying “crime doesn’t pay” may hold true in
many places, in California it doesn’t pay to land in the
hands of the cops whether a crime has been committed
or not. California has a number of high profile incidents
involving police misconduct – from the Rampart scandal
in the 90’s to numerous police beatings caught on film
(i.e. Rodney King and others). And these are the
incidents that are known. Residents of economically
depressed neighborhoods have long complained of
draconian police activity, complaints that have largely fell
on deaf ears. With the advent of camera phones and
other convenient recording devices, however, citizens are
now capturing clear evidence of police officers engaged
in nefarious activities. Crimes such as murder, rape, drug
trafficking, robbery and much more are among the
violations for which cops in California have been
convicted. In short, the residents of California often need
protection from the protectors.
1. Pending War With Mexico
There is a brewing war zone festering on the southern
border of the U.S. that threatens to spill over and engulf
California in the ensuing blood bath. Not since the
Mexican-American War (1846 – 1848) have the citizens of
the U.S. had to be concerned about armed conflict arising
from beyond the southern border. This is no longer the
case with the brewing drug war that is taking place in
Tijuana – a Mexican town just south of the California
border with Mexico. In the last 1 ½ years, the death toll
has exceeded over 1500 and the body count continues to
rise. Well over a third of these deaths are police officers
and government officials. The drug cartels, reacting to
Mexico’s declaration of war against drugs, have sought to
establish their own authority. The Mexican government,
for its part, has deployed well over 250,000 troops along
its border with the U.S. to stem the tide of violence. The
Mexican government has called on the U.S .to assist with
narcotic interdiction on the American side of the border.
What many fear is that the Mexican drug cartels will react
just as violently on this side of the border if the U.S.
decides to interfere. Considering that the drug cartels
have no inhibition to killing anyone – women, children,
whomever – Californians are correct in being concerned
that the violence may soon touch them.