California: A Failed State or Too Big to Fail?

California’s 2011–2012 Budget: Balancing the Budget Behemoth

“…Local districts that are compact and serve "continuous communities of interest" tend to be overwhelmingly Democratic or Republican (Douzet et al 2008). As Korey (2010) notes, this problem is made worse by the bipartisan gerrymander of districts that followed the 2000 Census.…”

“…According to Korey (2009, p. 55), "In 1991, the year following passage of the measure, the average member of the Assembly was in his or her ninth year in that body, while the average for the Senate was ten years." This means that the maximum tenure now is less than the average tenure then (Korey 2010). With limited time in office, politicians now concentrate more on finding their next job rather than focusing on their current one.…”

“…With limited time in office, politicians now concentrate more on finding their next job rather than focusing on their current one. Korey (2010) argues that "members lack institutional memory of the past and have less incentive to take a long-term view of the consequences of their decisions. Perhaps more subtly, they have less time to forge personal relationships, making it harder to negotiate differences and easier to demonize political opponents.…”