Some folks at George Mason University put together this little ranking of personal and economic freedoms among the 50 states.
"Contrary to popular perception, California not only taxes and regulates its economy more than most other states, it also aggressively interferes in the personal lives of its citizens. California ranks #48 on economic freedom and #37 on personal freedom. California simply needs to cut government spending. The budgetary categories most out of line with the rest of the country are public safety, natural resources and environment, and administration. The state actually does not spend more than average on education and social services. For a large state, it is also fairly centralized, with local governments receiving about half of their revenue in state grants, and almost two-thirds of all state and local tax revenues controlled by Sacramento. Labor laws are of course extremely strict; for instance, California is one of only five states to mandate short-term disability insurance. Health insurance mandates add about 60 percent to the cost of premiums in the state. Eminent domain reform has been cosmetic, and the state’s liability system almost reaches the abysmal quality of the Deep South. On personal freedoms, California does well of course on same-sex partnerships and marijuana, but it also has the most restrictive gun laws in the country, a highly restrictive policy regime for motorists, and smoking bans. Arrests for victimless crimes are surprisingly high, with 21.6 percent of all arrests being for victimless crimes, the fifth highest in the country. Effective homeschooling regulations are about average, but the state has no statute explicitly permitting homeschooling. Fortunately, the state has a reasonable asset forfeiture regime (burden of proof on government, owner knowledge of criminal activity required)."
We can't ignore the fact that we carry a tax burden well above that of other states. Prop 1A on the May ballot seeks to extend this year's $16 billion tax increases for up to 4 years instead of 2. Are we really going to let Sacramento take more of our hard earned money out of our pockets?
If there would be anything good about Obama ruining the economy/country, it would be that people might finally realize that government is not the answer.