California's restless dream
How a deep deficit, rising taxes, sunken dotcoms, and a no-limits ethos create a recall state of mind.
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SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. –
In most states, Tom Brickley would be simply a concerned businessman, anxious over the state of the economy and vexed by a government that he sees as chronically detached from everyday life.
In California, however, he is a revolutionary. With his buttoned-down collar and perfectly parted hair, Mr. Brickley does not seem to fit the part of a modern-day Che Guevara. But he needs no berets or bullets. Instead, he needs only the ballot box, and he vows to use it next Tuesday to overthrow Gov. Gray Davis.
Why is he so mad? For one thing, it's the fact that his business must pay about $50 in workers' compensation program for every $100 of payroll. The work is risky - hazardous waste - but he calls that burden "insane." Not everyone here shares his specific lament. But across this state, a nagging question hangs in the balmy air: Is the California Dream slipping away?
The move to recall Governor Davis is, to be sure, about electricity crises and budget deficits.
But it is also, undeniably, about something more. It is disgruntled Californians' latest and most daring gambit to reclaim the bright promise that brought them here in the first place.
This, after all, is the Golden State - the home of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, a land of perfect bodies burnished by the sun and limitless opportunities generated by the world's sixth-largest economy. But for 30 years, disenchantment has grown as fast as the population; the very social and economic forces that first brought Beach Boys and Bill Gates to California have now stretched the seams of public schools and shot home prices skyward.
No exodus, but introspection
Most Californians, to be sure, aren't packing their worldly goods and moving out. But dig beneath the surface of the current recall-election frenzy, and many cite problems that go beyond a tripling of the car tax or an ineffectual governor. They wonder about the strain of immigration, the climate for business, and the state's very system of government.
And, in true California fashion, they want to do something about it.
Ever since a barrel-chested California governor in 1911 established the initiative and the recall, vowing "to make the public service of the State responsive solely to the people," California voters have been a breed apart - unafraid to tinker with the most fundamental elements of government.
The increasing voter angst has spilled over in violent eruptions before - from the Proposition 13's property-tax revolt in 1978 to the anger over illegal immigration in 1994's Proposition 187. But experts say Californians' bid to figuratively decapitate their state government crosses a new threshold.
The result is a political experiment of national import, as voters essentially recast the traditional image of American democracy, shortening state politicians' already short leash - while the nation looks on.
"There is a massive disconnect between many voters and the state government," says Kevin Starr, a historian at the University of Southern California. It is an American issue, he adds, suggesting "California is a case study in America's problems."
Citrus to suburbs: a paradigm
In much the same way, San Bernardino is a case study in California's seismic social changes. Once the home of some of California's best citrus fields, San Bernardino sits in the lush flats backed by the chapparal foothills and the stark peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains, which divide Los Angeles's suburban Inland Empire from high desert. So unobtrusive as to seem stuck in time for the first three-quarters of the 20th century, San Bernardino has since become one of the fastest-growing regions of the state - and a crucible for the California Dream.
For some, that growth has already taken a toll. When Brad McMahon returned to his native California a year ago after spending several years in Arkansas, he saw the same trends here as there - only amplified. "There are more challenges and more people," says the San Bernardino resident, who came back to start a business.
At first, the shock of high prices and cul-de-sacs where only farmland had been made Mr. McMahon wonder if he made the right decision. "There have been times he's been sorry we moved back," says his wife, Cindy, as she drops into a local mall to send a package. "But when we think about it, we are determined to make it work and make all the dreams of opening a business come true."
Opportunity and obstacles
The realities the McMahons face, in fact, have become a driving force behind the recall. Since the days after World War II, Americans have come to California as a land of opportunity - first to work in its factories and fields and more recently to establish the Silicon Economy.
But some economists and businessmen have questioned whether that will continue.
So far, the California economy has done no worse than the national economy during the downturn, and even critics acknowledge that the engine of California's economic growth - technological innovation - remains anchored in Silicon Valley. But high energy costs and unemployment-insurance rates, as well broad family-leave and healthcare plans could force more small businesses to leave the state.
"I do see this business exodus as a major problem," says Jack Kyser, president of the Los Angeles Economic Development Council. "The state's economy is incredibly vibrant and can come back, but this time we are loading on so much regulation that you really start to wonder."
Next:
Immigration's challenge
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