Opinions may vary but CA pales in comparison to many states imo. Look at the fine state of NC for example, my friends of all affiliations in Raleigh & Charlotte are quite pleased. Exemplar it IS possible to strike that right balance- pro govt, pro business and pro citizen. Per Gemini:

“Surplus Details: The $3.3 billion surplus was achieved as the state collected $34.6 billion against $31.3 billion in expenditures.

Not for nothing, but North Carolina rates in the bottom tier for health care outcomes and pricing (among the 10 worst for access and costs) and ranks among the lowest for public school funding.

It’s easy to have a surplus when you don’t spend on basics like education and health care, the two largest drivers of cost in the country.

Now I’m not holding California up as a model either, heck, I live in Tennessee which is even worse than North Carolina in many respects, but then I don’t go around telling people how swell it is, and I consistently vote for higher taxes for education (and always lose). As it turns out “My friends” around here are wealthy, or at least upper middle class, so these mundane problems don’t affect them either. Many, like me, made their money in states with high taxes and high salaries and then moved here for one reason or another. (We came for a job for Mrs. Goofy after she trapsed around after me for so long.)

Businesses are coming to NC and TN and elsewhere in the South because labor is cheap and submissive. OK, that’s one way to run a society, I guess. It’s easy to complain about high taxes and whatnot, but what’s more important is what you get not just what you pay.