Too many cooks

Due to its massive budget shortfall, California will begin issuing IOUs in a week. Putting aside the potential awful economic consequences of that decision, it seems pretty obvious to me that the state has, at this point, become almost ungovernable. I know not how to untangle the mess California has created for itself but a good place to start would be to reign in the insane “governance by ballot initiative” system they have.

Don’t get me wrong - your average Californian is no dumber or smarter than your average person. It is just that I don’t want an average person making policy on school funding, water rights issues, or taxation any more than I want my plumber handling my dentistry. These things are complicated. Comprehension of them requires study for which most average people lack either the time, the inclination, or both. We don’t have a research staff to rely on unless you count our kids who know little, our parents who know every damn thing, or that idiot neighbor who insists on mowing his grass at 6:45 am every Saturday. Your average person is no policy wonk. So maybe California needs a bit more “representative” in its representative democracy.