You really cant be that surprised are you? They have to be the most messed up state there is. Think about it Florida has no income tax and can make due with sales tax and tourism dollars. California has way more stuff to attract people and yet the California government needs higher sales and income taxes and still is the most bankrupt state in the nation. They are the true nanny state. If something is wrong the government should fix it. If the government fix messes it up further add more government. I used to live there. They had 10 different coastal developement government boards. You wanted to do anything within 10 miles of the ocean or water heading to the ocean you needed all 10 approvals. But they had no rules you start at 1 and do whatthey tell you go to 2 etc by the time you got to 10 you spent way more than it should cost and by this time what the later ones had you do violated what the 1st one controlled and they took back approval and you had to start all over on your own dime of course.