Tuesday, January 19, 2010
California tried. And then it failed. Uniquely charged by its constitution to guarantee the “happiness” of its residents – the state empowered its people to demand by referendum whatever they wanted to spend money on – from better schools to bigger prisons and to refuse by referendum to pay the bills. A legislature paralyzed by the absence of a workable middle – and a requirement for a 2/3 vote to impose taxes – combined finally to dig the state into a possibly inescapable hole. Having now earned the lowest bond rating of any of the 50 states, the rates it pays to borrow keep getting higher. Yet borrowing seems to be all California can do to get through from day to day. That is what is known as The Road to Bankruptcy. “Happiness” thus engineered is doomed to collapse. The question is whether California is a special case–with a uniquely dysfunctional political culture–or a bellwether of failure soon to come to other high-spending states near you.
For
Andreas Kluth
Writer for The Economist
For
Bobby Shriver
Santa Monica City Council
For
Sharon Waxman
Editor-in-Chief, Founder, and CEO of TheWrap.com
Against
Gray Davis
37th Governor of California
Against
Van Jones
Advisor for Green Jobs at the White House Council for Environmental Quality
Against
Lawrence O'Donnell
Senior Political Analyst for MSNBC
Moderator
John Donvan
Author and correspondent for ABC News.
Listen to the edited radio broadcast
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to the unedited radio broadcast
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Subscribe to the PodcastFor The Motion
Andreas Kluth
Writer for The Economist
has been writing for the Economist since 1997 and currently covers California and the western states from Los Angeles. In previous assignments, he covered technology, Asian business and global finance.
Learn moreFor The Motion
Bobby Shriver
Santa Monica City Council
was elected to the Santa Monica City Council by the highest percentage of voters in that city’s 120-year history in 2004. Re-elected in 2008, he continues his work to reduce homelessness in the city and across Los Angeles County.
Learn moreFor The Motion
Sharon Waxman
Editor-in-Chief, Founder, and CEO of TheWrap.com
is editor in chief, founder, and CEO of TheWrap.com, a primary news source focused on the business of entertainment and media. She is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, and a former Hollywood correspondent for the New York Times.
Learn moreAgainst The Motion
Gray Davis
37th Governor of California
was overwhelmingly elected the 37th governor of California in 1998, winning 58 percent of the vote. As Governor, he made education a top priority, signing legislation to strengthen California’s K-12 system, increasing accountability in schools, and expanding access to higher education with a record number of scholarships and college loans.
Learn moreAgainst The Motion
Van Jones
Advisor for Green Jobs at the White House Council for Environmental Quality
worked from March to September 2009 as the special advisor for green jobs at the White House Council for Environmental Quality, where he developed policy recommendations to help implement the Obama Administration’s commitment to clean energy jobs.
Learn moreAgainst The Motion
Lawrence O'Donnell
Senior Political Analyst for MSNBC
is a senior political analyst for MSNBC and an Emmy-winning producer and writer of NBC’s The West Wing. From 1993 through 1995, O’Donnell was the Democratic chief of staff of the United States Senate Committee on Finance.
Learn moreDeclared Winner: For The Motion
Online Voting
Research
Research For The Motion:
- Articles & Publications: Waxman, Sharon
- Articles & Publications: Shriver, Bobby
- Articles & Publications: Kluth, Andreas
Research Against The Motion:
- Articles & Publications: O'Donnell, Lawrence
- Articles & Publications: Jones, Van
- Articles & Publications: Davis, Gray
Search By Tag-Cloud:
About This Event
Event Photos
http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/581-california-is-the-first-failed-state#sigProGalleria2fdbfc047d
Leave a comment
Make sure you enter the (*) required information where indicated. HTML code is not allowed.
