California is a shitty state for normal middle class people on many objective measures. It has some of the worst schools in the country, outperforming only Deep South states and Oklahoma and West Virginia. It has the highest cost of living adjusted poverty rate in the country: https://calmatters.org/commentary/2023/11/lower-california-h.... It has net domestic out migration, meaning that more people are leaving instead of coming in. Despite all that, it also has the highest tax burden of any state.

Yes, people talk about California a lot, but only because it’s such a clear A/B test result. It went from being a prosperous red state to being a dysfunctional blue state within a single generation.

Never read the book. So your response is not only incorrect but I have no clue about what you're talking about.

A better response is to spell out your disagreement so that I can understand it without having to read a book.

It's a tactic used by spin meisters in other states to influence people who have probably never been to California. "Look over there at the liberals, see what a mess they've made in their own state".

I visited California and immediately saw a lot of homeless penises. The spin meisters prepared me correctly.

I live in San Francisco. I've also lived in LA. For roughly all 40 years of my life.