This thought-provoking article compares the performance of the “high-tax, high-benefits” model of state government (exemplified by California) to the performance of the “low-tax, low-benefits” state (represented by Texas). The author’s conclusion is that Texas is winning handily — and his conclusion is supported by population migration statistics, which show people leaving California and moving to places like Texas.
The single most amazing statistic in the article, to my mind, is that 9,223 former civil servants and educators are receiving pensions of more than $100,000 from California. Good lord! What did those individuals do to deserve such lucrative retirement packages, and how in the world is California ever going to right the budget ship if it has to bear those kinds of costs for pensions?
[...] cash. California’s current problems are entirely self-inflicted. Any state that has 9,223 former state employees earning state pensions of more than $100,000 per year (to cite only one example) has been poorly governed and still has cutting to do. If the fiscal [...]