Michael Turnipseed laments how California has declined from being a global leader under Governor Pat Brown to its current state of disrepair and financial bankruptcy. When Brown was governor from 1958 to 1966, he invested heavily in infrastructure, higher education, and business development, which fueled the state's economic growth. However, today California ranks at the bottom in education and has a poor business climate due to the legislature's budget cuts, lack of vision, and inability to solve ongoing fiscal crises. Turnipseed argues that electing visionary leaders who make tough decisions is necessary to rebuild California's economy and restore it to its former "Golden State" status.

1. California Forward Blog Post
Michael Turnipseed, Executive Director
Kern County Taxpayers Association
November 10, 2011
“Based on your experience as a Californian, what is at stake for you and for California if the
budget and governance issues are not solved and California continues on its current path?
As a teenager growing up, in the Central Valley, I saw the “Golden State” growing
and“golden glow” getting brighter. Pat Brown served as California’s Governor from 1958 to
1966. His two terms were marked by an enormous water-resources development program.
The California Aqueduct built as part of the program now bears his name. The decade and
a half construction of the Intrastate 5 Highway started in 1962. He also presided over the
enactment of the California Master Plan for Higher Education. The Plan was the basis for a
substantial surge in development in California higher education. Today, many credit the
California universities for the place the state holds in the world economy, as well as
bolstering its own economic makeup with great investment in high technology areas, such
as Silicon Valley, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.He sponsored some forty major
proposals, including fair employment legislation, a state economic development
commission, and a consumers' council;only five of which failed to pass in the Legislature.
When Brown was Governor, the State invested seven percent of the General Fund in to
infrastructure.
California was a special place. Great universities, a model public school system,
friendly pro-business economic climate, desirable climate, the state was the place to be in
The United States. Our leaders were visionary, progressive, risk takers that had a grand plan
for the future of the state.
50 years later, California has gone from the world’s leader in almost everything to a
state that is bankrupt in nearly every way:
Development of water resources is nonexistent.
The State’s infrastructure is in disrepair,
The Legislature has gutted California’s once proud higher education with
draconian budget cuts requiring massive tuition increases.
California’s public schools are now ranked at the bottom nationally.
The State has dropped from best to worst in its climate for business
development.
The State’s leadership has no vision or plan for the state, responding to
symptoms, crisis to crisis, without any understanding of the underlying causes.
The Legislature has destroyed the state’s finances. Into 2012, state investment
in infrastructure is .25 percent of the General Fund, while interest on debt
exceeds 8 percent of the GF.
Our State leaders are fiddling while California is burning. We must elect leaders who
are visionaries and able to prioritize and make tough decisions. We need leaders who
understand that California needs to develop a great climate for business, to build a strong
economy, to recreate the “Golden State.”