How California Became the Most Powerful State

[@CynicalHistorian]

Start speaking a new language in 3 weeks with Babbel. Get up to 65% OFF your subscription here: bit.ly/thecynicalhistorian_babbel Click "read more" for further info, corrections, and bibliography Thanks for watching! Please consider supporting the channel by buying merch: teespring.com/stores/the-cynical-historian Or by donating to my Patreon: www.patreon.com/CynicalHistorian *[reserved for errata]* Here are some related videos: *Bibliography* Paul Sabin, _Crude Politics: The California Oil Market, 1900-1940_ (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005). amzn.to/2W16gtt Paul J. P. Sandul, _California Dreaming: Boosterism, Memory, and Rural Suburbs in the Golden State_ (Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2014). amzn.to/3FoLVnO John Sedgwick, _From the River to the Sea: The Untold Story of the Railroad War That Made the West_ (New York: Avid Reader Press, 2021), audiobook. amzn.to/3DoBSi9 Kevin Starr, _Inventing the Dream: California through the Progressive Era_ (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1985). amzn.to/2VPTbVX Kevin Starr, _Material Dreams: Southern California through the 1920s_ (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1990). amzn.to/3oDZusG Kevin Starr, _Endangered Dreams: The Great Depression in California_ (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1996). amzn.to/32ajETR Kevin Starr, _The Dream Endures: California Enters the 1940s_ (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1997). amzn.to/3nnamft Kevin Starr, _Embattled Dreams: California in War and Peace, 1940-1950_ (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2002). amzn.to/3CnerEz Kevin Starr, _Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963_ (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2009). amzn.to/3qGyyve

[@sergiogarza2519]

As a Texan, thank you for dispelling some California myths so many Texans are so fond of. This was super interesting and provided a lot of new topics to read more about!

[@Lesliecamping]

what kind of myths? :)

[@Jonasansu]

I am half Japanese. My maternal family were Gosei, they had lived in California for a very long time, my mom actually jokes that her family is more American than my dad's Scottish and Norwegian family who came here in the early 1900s. During the war they were interned, even while my grandfather was in the army currently fighting in Europe. They lost their successful business, house, basically everything in that period. It is not really surprising that after the war my essentially newly wed grandparents moved to Boston, basically as far away from Cali as they could. The true irony of it all is the reaction some of my family has had to that trauma. Some became very hardcore pro America types trying to embody everything that it meant to be so (my mother and grandfather), while some reconnected with our roots in Hokkaido (my grandmother and uncle), my uncle is actually an English professor their now.

[@PUAlum]

InterNed. I hope! (I mean, i hope they were not interred.)

[@Jonasansu]

@@PUAlum Haha phone autocorrect while typing quickly between meetings. It does interesting things.

[@NunSuperior]

My best friend's mother was interned too, as a small child. It really wasn't all that long ago.

[@BobPantsSpongeSquare97]

What you said at the end has happened to Hispanics as well. Despite the long history of racism and hardship, you'll see some Hispanics want to quickly shed the immigrant background of their parents and grandparents and really want to adopt American stereotypes and right wing politics. To the point where they view illegal Hispanic immigrants as being "the other" and not identifying with their roots. Iv heard stuff along the lines of "Im not Mexican American, Im American"

[@tomallen5837]

@@BobPantsSpongeSquare97 it's not uncommon at all. I have European descent friends from the Eastern Bloc all who have changed their tune once they get their citizenship. Sigh, I guess it's averaged to behave that way to one another

[@xtensioncordtv1969]

William mullholland really is a tragic story. He felt so guilty for the dam collapse that he insisted all the blame be put on him and then he spent the rest of his life in self imposed seclusion due to the grief he felt.

[@epsilonjay4123]

He sure felt guilty for that dam collapse.

[@SomasAcademy]

Cypher's facial hair has gone from Trotsky to more of a young Engels. Looking forward to his transformation into Marx next.

[@Ray-xr3gj]

👀

[@boomanchu2]

Wait until it goes August Willich, who thought Marx was too conservative and wished to kill Marx in a duel. He later became a Union general during the Civil War.

[@DriveCarToBar]

and then to its ultimate form: Mikhail Bakunin.

[@Nwmguy]

@@DriveCarToBar ultimate form has to be Pyotr Kropotkin

[@rockhound3.14]

Lol

[@NunSuperior]

Los Angeles history and water access are so tied together. Someone should make a movie about it.

[@CynicalHistorian]

Yeah, they should even talk about ethnic conflict and detectives avoiding the Chinese part of town

[@christopherfanelli8821]

The movie “Chinatown” is based on the failure of the St Francis dam.

[@DriveCarToBar]

I felt that bit about smog. My dad grew up in San Pedro and was in high school in the mid-60s. He said he remembered getting up for school, going outside and your eyes would burn. He was lucky too because of San Pedro's proximity to the ocean. A good breeze tended to blow the smog out of the area. It's funny that my grandparents bought that house for an insanely cheap price back in the early 1940s and today, Zillow estimates it's worth is over $700k. A little 2-bd 2bath bungalow house with a detached garage and a little yard.

[@gentlegiant4067]

"Contrary to popular belief, it's still growing with no state anywhere close to capable of challenging that prosperity." BOOM. Exactly, native Californian here. For some inexplicable reason some people believe that it's a uncivilized, terrible state compared to other states like Texas. Not even remotely close to true, you ever try to strike in Texas as a Teacher? No. You know why? Because striking in Texas allows them to take away your teaching credential. California has one of the strongest Union's in the country for Teaching. 5th Largest economy in the world for a reason and continuing to grow. We put in a dollar for every dollar that we get from the federal government which only recently changed. Texas residents get $300 in federal funding whereas California residents get $12 in federal funding. So much for Texas being a "small government" state. Fact of the matter is California is strong and prosperous, more so than any other state in the nation. Yes that includes Texas and Florida, despite what you will hear from all these snowflake republicans lol. Sure you've got anecdotal stories here and there but California is still and continues to be the most powerful state in the union.

[@a.g.m8790]

Nobody *actually* believes the anti California bs. It’s just cope for living in flyover states 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@accent1666]

prob they complain a lot about some social and poverty issues in Cali but other than that, i think Cali standards are higher than Texas'

[@DriveCarToBar]

The net contributor status only changed recently because of a worldwide pandemic. Last time this happened was 2008 when the real estate collapse rocked the country and tossed us all into a recession. It took a couple years to come out of it and my guess is CA will do the same thing again. I would be very surprised to see CA not regain its status as a Net Contributor by 2025.

[@kobk225]

Nevadan: Can we have are water back?

[@whathell6t]

@@accent1666 Don’t forget conservatism. California still has a right-wing conservatism and only growing due to the influx of Latino immigrants who have strong religiosity as well sectarian fluidity between Catholicism and Fundamentalist Protestantism. As usual, American racism within the Christianity bars a united coalition in California. And ironically makes the Latino hard-core Christians be susceptible to progressive policies.

[@jessicawilson1751]

Fun fact, San Francisco State University's marine lab, the Estuary and Ocean Science Center (formerly the Romberg Tiburon Center), is located in an old navy site where they built nets that were hung under the Golden Gate Bridge to prevent submarines from entering the bay. I believe it wasn't only until relatively recently that larger marine mammals started coming back into the bay. It's where I worked on my master's degree and I currently work there. It's sad how a lot of the naval buildings are collapsing.

[@YggdrasilAudio]

As someone who studied German at Middle-and High School, I knew exactly what you were saying without looking at the screen. Good job!

[@mooseandotterexplore413]

This series is amazing. Thank you for putting it together.

[@tecpaocelotl]

Both my grandpas came to California during the bracero program.

[@In_Our_Timeline]

Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back To the place I was before 'Relax,' said the night man, 'We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave ...” ― The Eagles,

[@danyo10]

this series is getting better and better each episode!

[@stephenwright8824]

Municipal amalgamation and Beverley Hills. The former can be attributed to a William Mulholland (the same one as in your video? Uncertain.) who came out from Boston with $5 in his pocket, became a member of the LA city council and was elected mayor twice. He proved it was cheaper and more efficient for larger towns or cities to absorb smaller ones, first by extending the reach of their municipal services, then more broadly. So far as I am aware, Beverley Hills was named after Beverly, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.

[@libertyjustice2654]

This has been a great series! California history is hard to come by, so I hope you continue adding more videos.

[@posthumousc4913]

Great video! I've been to Ft Irwin for one run through NTC back in 2002 and now I regularly fly over the desert for work. I've been told about the old training camps and it's nice to finally see them on a map. It's great to have some historical perspective on old family stories. Some of my great-grandparents emigrated from the Azores to work the orchards in what has become the Silicon Valley and a grandfather moved out here after the war, I guess he liked it when he was here after getting orders to deploy to the PTO.

[@travisemerson933]

Hey man!! This is the series that got me subscribed to you. I didn't realize you'd continued. So cool. Thank you. Just starting it now

[@CynicalHistorian]

There's more on the way, including an ancillary, but related episode next month (how CA is a rivalry with everyone else)

[@khamulthewack4732]

*me, a Californian college drop out who writes crap short stories for a living and has contributed nothing of value to the wider economy* You're welcome AMERICA

[@NotHPotter]

*ANGRY TEXAN NOISES*

[@emsauce75]

This was a great part of my family history that I didn't know. GGma was an Okie and the other was from Mexico.

[@christiansky942]

Hey bud, just to let you know: the Salton Sea isn't in the Mojave Desert, but the Sonoran Desert :) Keep up the good stuff

[@nicholasbissonnette6652]

Wait? The dude from pawn stars is your dad??? That's crazy!!! On second thought, It makes perfect sense.

[@uprightape100]

Don't forget......in 1848 slavers wanted California REAL bad as a slave state, but were thwarted thanks in part to territorial governor and first state governor John C. Fremont. Thus, in the South, was a simmering type of butthurt that would lead directly to secession. Cali caused the Civil War.

[@j.casillas569]

My man Cypher out here looking like Solzhenitsyn.

[@AlexCab_49]

This makes me proud of being Californian. Anyone here from the San Fernando Valley?

[@tiffanywyatt5137]

Nothing to be proud of.

[@AlexCab_49]

@@tiffanywyatt5137 Ok if we were our own country, we'd be the 5th largest economy, for the second year in a row we've had a budget surplus, we basically help fund red states. So I think I have plenty to be proud of my state.

[@tiffanywyatt5137]

@@AlexCab_49 a quarter of the pop lives in poverty. A large economy means nothing hence the money clearly goes to the rich.if you were a seperatetw country have fun paying extra for American water. I pray feo the day California leaves I want a national divorce.

[@AlexCab_49]

@@tiffanywyatt5137 Boy, Mississippi, Louisiana and West Virginia have the worst poverty rates and they're Republican states. CA is expensive to live in but that's because of supply and demand.

[@tiffanywyatt5137]

@@AlexCab_49 I know poverty is there. but 99% of people can't afford California. Only the privileged can. Just stop it. America is the 1 economy in the world I guess that means it's all good right? You should be proud of that right?

[@tltaber50]

When I was born there were 10 million people living in California. Now the population is nearly 40 million. I think it would be a good thing if the population stopped growing. But it is still a great place to live.

[@Fangesuey]

Watching from San Francisco. Thanks for the video!

[@ItsDooby]

you should try to do a whole episode in spanish one day

[@bearadactyl9998]

Thanks for the video 👍

[@nicholasbissonnette6652]

East coast schools are much more challenging than most UCs. I have experience at both and the east is truly competitive while the west has better holistic development imo.

[@sydneygata2835]

This is the kind of content I need.

[@USSChicago-pl2fq]

I can’t wait to see the bad comments on this vod.

[@gentlegiant4067]

Gonna be a bunch of hurt republicans upset at his point made at 3:40 California is strong and continues to be strong despite anecdotal evidence from a couple of upset Republicans.

[@matthewarnold4557]

@@gentlegiant4067 I'm a New Yorker, I guess I'm a little jelly. I didn't realize just how dominant California was as a state. New York doesn't do bad for itself though, given we are a third of the size with half the resources. Besides, Billy Joel or Beyonce never wrote a song about you LOL

[@gentlegiant4067]

@@matthewarnold4557 true but the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Mamas and Papas, and 2PAC have 😂

[@johnb.carpenter6862]

Great episode ! California is is the best state. I won’t want to live anywhere else. The weather, geography and the people are the best. … Keep the California videos coming. I have watch every episode three times a least.

[@johnb.carpenter6862]

@@ryze9153 Good, don’t go away mad just go away.

[@brandon9172]

@@ryze9153 Except that literally isn't true lol. Their population growth is positive. Not as high as other states (like mine) though.

[@brandon9172]

@@ryze9153 Tf you mean no. They've literally had population growth. You can hate California all you want, I don't like the state either. But you're just wrong lol.

[@plasmicats2000]

@@ryze9153 And when Texas turns blue you are just gonna magically notice all the crime in San Antonio huh?

[@plasmicats2000]

@@ryze9153 I said when. But anyway like I said WHEN it does, you are just going to magically notice all the shortcomings of your state that were decades in the making. I mean you treat the federal US as a whole that way, I'm assuming

[@musclecarfan74]

Hand you, this video answered my question regarding dust bowl transplants.

[@ultimategamer876]

Mr Beat is my spirit animal

[@rparl]

Stanford's full name is Leland Stanford Junior University, previously Leland Stanford Junior College. I knew someone who was a student there when the name changed. The students protested, chanting, "What's the difference between a Junior College and a Junior University? Five thousand dollars." (Or whatever the annual tuition was.) It was named after Leland Stanford's son, who died early.

[@kali3665]

California got to keep both northern and southern parts, making it one of the largest states in the contiguous 48, simply because the US needed California a heck of a lot more than California need the US.

[@VigEuth]

And due to the Senate, we have less political power per capita than any other state.

[@blankname5177]

@@VigEuth Abolish the senate, one of the most undemocratic institution in USA.

[@skeletonnoise6178]

@@blankname5177 Fuck No, why should California decide how the east lives and governors itself

[@Edax_Royeaux]

@@skeletonnoise6178 Conversely why should Vermont have 64 times the voting power of Californians and tell the west how to live?

[@skeletonnoise6178]

@@Edax_Royeaux Here's the thing about that, it's only in one chamber. Everyone is equal in the senate well California holds more power in the house. You are asking for there to be a imbalnce of power between the states.

[@ReignCharger]

LA's insatiable extractive want for water displaced and disrupted so many tribal communities. City of fuckin angels.

[@RappinPicard]

“What I would do, if I were custodian of [Yosemite National Park], is I'd hire a dozen of the best photographers in the world. I'd build them cabins in Yosemite Valley and pay them something and give them all the film they wanted. I'd say, 'This park is yours. It's yours for one year. I want you to take photographs in every season. I want you to capture all the colors, all the waterfalls, all the snow, and all the majesty. I especially want you to photograph the rivers. In the early summer, when the Merced River roars, I want to see that.' And then I'd leave them be. And in a year I'd come back, and take their film, and send it out and have it developed and treated by Pathé. And then I would print the pictures in thousands of books and send them to every library. I would urge every magazine in the country to print them and tell every gallery and museum to hang them. I would make certain that every American saw them. And then do you know what I would do? I'd go in there and build a dam from one side of that valley to the other and stop the goddamned waste!" - William Mulholland.

[@joshuapartridge5092]

i was also born in san luis obispo, but grew up and went to school in arkansas, now im going to college in california again, it'd cool to go to cal poly in slo, ive visited a few times and its a really nice place, so i'm thinking either that, or Humboldt since its a polytechnic now

[@modder15]

I live less than a mile next to the Adobe you interned at, I walk by there everyday on my walk.

[@flame_emerald]

Still living in Oklahoma... wish we would've gone to Cali. I hate it here

[@ShiddyTimelineClubMember]

Funny enough, I got a friend who is moving to Oklahoma with his dad. He complained about there being a total lack of jobs in his field as well as nothing to do outside of the big city there.

[@flame_emerald]

@@ShiddyTimelineClubMember There isn't a lot to do here unless you work in a warehouse, construction, or work in the oil fields. Also, as a bonus we all but lead in the nation in meth addiction 🙃

[@jnieto490]

@@flame_emerald oh it's ok we probably have a good amount of meth heads in SF and Sac too 😂

[@sateo_ofmind707]

It would be interesting to see the history of specific counties within California and how they contributed to Californian history...guess I could just look that up but I like your videos 😅

[@CynicalHistorian]

Why would a history of an entire state focus on specific counties?

[@joshuaabe4832]

@@CynicalHistorian I think they meant how events within specific counties contributed to the state as a whole. eg. El Dorado County and the Gold Rush. Then later Shasta and so forth.

[@mpista7182]

Along with a fellow classmate I interviewed former soldiers from the 442nd Infantry Regiment that was an all Japanese unit . These soldiers proved to be some of the bravest most decorated warriors in the U.S. Military in WWII. Listening to their stories made the hair on my neck stand up. It is really sad at the shameful ways some Asian Americans are treated presently by some of our citizens.

[@jacobmcclellan7399]

0:16 There's always time for a song. Bop boop bop boop bop boop bop boop Time is a tool you can put on the wall and wear it on your rizd. The past is far behind us, the future doesn't exist!

[@thebutzel9752]

These comments are going to be… interesting. *grabs popcorn*

[@nastynando]

Great story on how it relates to the military industrial complex. If I may suggest, please add more photos or videos of diversity from the ‘40-‘50 era. Thanks respectfully 💪🇺🇸🤙

[@christianfischer238]

Liebe dein Deutsch! All the best from Berlin!

[@trioofone8911]

California may still have smog, but that doesn't stop us from being smug! 😁 But seriously, great video. Now that I've discovered this series I will have to watch all the others. A suggestion: a video about the Buffalo Soldiers that patrolled Yosemite and other parts of the state. Tnx

[@LibertarianLeninistRants]

Ich verstehe dein Deutsch, auch wenn es ein bisschen schleppend ist. Finde ich gut, dass du Sprachen lernst^^

[@CynicalHistorian]

Du werdst meinen Teil auf nächsten Folge mögen

[@promiscuous5761]

Thank you.

[@Matty002]

theres a reason we say west coast is best coast, sometimes also east coast is least coast

[@C1914]

I find it strange that Los Angeles is the cultural capital of the US since a lot of very “American” things are more present in New York or eastwards. For example there is no snow in LA and the climate is Hot Semi Arid and Mediterranean with chaparral, sagebrush, Californian grassland, and oak woodland instead of temperate deciduous forest or the Great Plains. Schools in South Orange County don’t have lunch inside and halls don’t have roofs a lot of the time(at least were I have been). The people represented in US media are not in the same ratios as in Socal(in terms of race). And the police wear green and bulletproof vests. And more people say in TV I want to go to Hollywood then to the Big Apple since more people are shown living in New York than in LA.

[@megax5000]

great video but you didn't mention anything about one of the most major sources of power: silicon valley

[@CynicalHistorian]

Silicon valley didn't exist in 1962

[@megax5000]

@@CynicalHistorian oh didn't realize you stopped at 1962

[@superzhane299]

am i mistaken or did you upload a video on race that got taken down before i could watch it? if so is there a place i can watch it

[@CynicalHistorian]

Nothing for taken down that i know of

[@superzhane299]

My bad I guess it was another channel with similar thumbnails

[@Idahoguy10157]

Two reasons: Geography. Later population growth

[@emsauce75]

How about: The area was already being developed, from Mexico and Spain, before that?

[@IRmightynoob]

@@emsauce75 If you count a handful of ranches in a town with less a thousand people from two hundred years ago the reason why LA became one of the worlds largest cities and for a time reigned as a top ten worlds greatest economic powers, I don't think anyone could help you understand geopolitics.

[@emsauce75]

@@IRmightynoob all the major cities are Spanish names, so we all come from somewhere.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@emsauce75 …. The biggest effect of Spain/Mexico was the beginning of the destruction of California’s native tribes.

[@emsauce75]

@@Idahoguy10157 I'm not gonna argue with you every aspect of California history.

[@martinez209]

You answered Lot of my questions. People don't realize that lots of homeless people in California are actually people who moved here from other states since we have the most livable climate for people living on the streets and alot of those people are ones that came in search of fame here in los angeles but never left. My family are native from California. I have great great great grandparents who lived in California so I love my state.

[@zanseinofan01]

Cipher's sporting the Chechen beard.

[@processlayer1212]

One thing I can say is bad about California is that they use First-Past-The-Post for an electoral system at the state level.

[@Vulture2264]

I like that system better over the these two parties no matter how horrible person they run will always get nominated. Here you need actually campaign and get to know the people in the district or statewide seat you want.

[@processlayer1212]

@@Vulture2264 I prefer a mixed-member proportional system where you have to win seats like normal, but also citizens get a 2nd vote to make sure no smaller party is unfairly represented. Generally with a threshold.

[@overcome5193]

San Diego ca here

[@ddpsf]

They stole all of the water from their neighbors and from NorCal so it could happen.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

How do you "steal" water? Why didn't the cops stop the thieves?

[@plasmicats2000]

Norcal is part of california??????????

[@moses4769]

Mr Beat and The Compromise of 1850...

[@sm1522]

California will be facing severe challenges in the future and the only way it can survive and continue to prosper is as an independent nation

[@music4thedeaf]

Cali is connected to the national grid. If it were not it would end up like texas

[@steel12fire8]

Just thinking about it

[@josh2424]

Hey here's an idea you can throw in the "idea bucket" - Validating Ukraine presuit of independence. I wonder if there are countries that became independent in a way that mirriors Ukraines attempts.

[@Olivesandeggs]

Could you do a “Based on A True Story” on Oliver Stone’s “Ukraine On Fire”. It’s really bad but I can’t articulate why exactly and thought it would be great to get a well researched video on another one of Stone’s absolute messes.

[@dinotsar6396]

That’s technically a documentary, not a fiction film. I doubt it’d make for a Based on a True Story since it’s not a Hollywood films that claims it’s historical. Now, from what I’ve heard (I haven’t seen it myself and have no interest to), it is filled with myth-making, but it’s not Hollywood myth-making to make a supposedly greater film.

[@MaverickMSzero]

In before, "nu uh!! Texas!"

[@CynicalHistorian]

Too late. Already had one who said so along with some homophobia, because of course people who deny reality are also bigots. Hatred always spreads of unchecked

[@thevenbede767]

Need to work on that accent but your Spanish is doing pretty good

[@Bazalkacz]

Hoover dam 😳

[@ltpinecone]

Oh boy, this is gonna be one heck of a comments section. Just so everyone knows where I stand: East Coast = best coast.

[@skeletonnoise6178]

Oh I can't wait to see the stupidity lol

[@brandon9172]

Northwest coast best coast

[@skeletonnoise6178]

But Michigan got best coasts

[@jnieto490]

You guys just had early access to a game we're simply better at 😤 😂 can't I even talk smack because the farthest east I've been is Utah 💀

[@jnieto490]

@@skeletonnoise6178 that's just a big ol lake calm down that don't count 😂

[@drehitemup9904]

Californias only Ls are reagan Nixon and nimbys

[@Rensra]

I am NOT touching myself!

[@CynicalHistorian]

That's what a denialist would say!

[@sparkpenguin]

i am an east coast lifer born in manhattan and while i will always stan florida as my new home planet, thanks to this series i no longer hate and resent california lol

[@dex1lsp]

ROLL ON YOU BEEEAAARRRRRRS

[@frozenfalcon253]

The Stanford campus is amazing was there with my daughter for a campus visit.

[@BernieSanders-bn5dk]

Texans aren't going to like this one. 😡😡😡😡

[@gotanygrapes831]

Man do I hate what governor Reagan did to California.

[@somerandomguy4919]

Not just California but all of America

[@Jebbtube]

And yet Texas decides what books kids read in schools. Explain THAT Cyhper.

[@CynicalHistorian]

California has by far the most influence on textbooks

[@VigEuth]

One Senator per 20 million people says we ain't THAT powerful. Fun fact, Wyoming has one senator per 20 people.

[@boomanchu2]

California has two Senators representing one State, Wyoming has two Senators representing one State. California Whinging is like listening to Veruca Salt. "Other States have two Senators so I want more."

[@SP-xy7yh]

We have the most electoral points and representatives

[@VigEuth]

@@boomanchu2 Who is arguing that California should have more Senators? If so, then so should Texas.....oh wait we have something like that called the house. I'd argue we should just abolish the Senate and move to House only....gerrymandering is still a problem but that can be overcome.

[@VigEuth]

@@SP-xy7yh Yes....duh. And fewest representatives and electoral college points per person. That's like getting 20 poor people together and saying "together they have more money than these 3 middle class people, therefore it's fine."

[@btrdangerdan2010]

Im from orange county

[@bradywhit4153]

"Ahh yes, the golden state: California!" Said I, gawking at the backwall & the sepia photos far over-crowding that wall of our local ice cream parlor. "Califorwhaat now?.. California?? & WHat(Emphasis on that H) in the hell you know 'bout California boy..? Mhm well it's the land of the GahDamn fruits & nuts son... kooks & commies" - my father reminded me. Always quick @ the draw, my old man seemed quite fond of making that declaration boldly any chance he'd got ! Hahaha Didn't matter if it was the dinner table or the Democratic Convention lol & he said it with conviction!

[@trackingthecoreofstuffandm2310]

California's economic development shows how development led by the state is important for the development of a state. Which leads me to say that economic development policies must be lead by the state

[@nastynando]

Making American citizens great again

[@rockhound3.14]

What happened to KZbin?

[@Bsidheq]

We got emos and rainbows

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

Los Angeles is an affront to god.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

The Angels are an affront to God? That's a new one.

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

@@Edax_Royeaux Not because of the culture, I don't care about that. Because it's an unsustainable city built in the least hospitable environment for the lols.

[@TeethToothman]

🪐⚡🪐

[@Necr0Phi1]

your german is better tham the germans at "scrubs" speak...

[@peterkwolek2265]

Powerful is a bad word choice on account of them not being able to keep the power on during summer.

[@davinky3277]

3:52 “making Los Angeles the cultural capital of the United States” - laughs in European

[@a.g.m8790]

Yea that is funny. Imagine thinking anywhere in Europe is as influential to modern culture as LA 😆

[@BasicLib]

@@a.g.m8790 lol I know right. They're even on a platform run from a Cali based company.

[@imachangedname2978]

people saying los angeles is the cultural capital of the US makes me wanna gut my entire body out ngl, I just hate the place

[@jnieto490]

@@BasicLib I'd like to add that google is based out of silicon valley so *Northern* California y'all just got Hollywood and the port going for y'all down there 😂

[@TJ_918]

Cypher is so hot 🤤🥵🥴

[@pcarnold9]

Would not want to live there ick! Or any large population state

[@jnieto490]

There's more to California than just the big cities on the coast we literally have a whole valley that's mostly rural kinda important considering it's part of what makes California the most agriculturally productive state in the union

[@danielcarroll3358]

@@jnieto490 And if you don't like people go to the northeast corner of the state... empty. For example, Plumas county, 6 people per square mile.

[@BHuang92]

I would like to see part 2, the eventual decline.

[@stephenwright8824]

Paraphrasing Benjamin Franklin to Sir Edward Gibbon, "Sorry to bother you. Let me know when you'll be needing documents for a work on the rise and fall of the _British_ Empire." IOW don't hold your breath.

[@imachangedname2978]

@@stephenwright8824 Ok, but there's actual reasons to suspect it will decline such as energy issues, or maybe inflation causing general transport costs to rise or bottleneck in ways that make ripples that eventually crush away at bits of its economy

[@imachangedname2978]

@@stephenwright8824 And the brittish empire kinda did fall, they sure don't hold the territory they used to

[@zeveroarerules]

Not at all the most prestigeous "in the world". Ermerica is not "the world". Again with that "in the world" bit. If you make the scale, then obviously you can say it's unrivalled. We all know the worth of the american educational system. We know how the universities work.

[@Ray-xr3gj]

Then provide evidence and citations. A quick Google search of "global public university ratings" and "which country has the best public universities" and similar queries pulls up several results, many of which list UCLA or UC Berkeley at the top globally. Germany comes up first for the second result, albeit from an article specifically about STEM degrees, many other more comprehensive lists place America at the top. It seems that there isn't a firm consensus on what a good university is, they likely use metrics relating to: range of degrees offered, quality of education/staff, time it takes to graduate, drop out rate, percentage of international students, etc. What America fails in terms of higher education is: cost/predatory loan system, underfunded. Don't forget the key words here: public and university. Private schools are not part of this equation and k-12, while remarkably abysmal in America, also are not included. Yes, 'merica bad, but critically examining that concept when presented with information you don't understand is necessary. Have a good one

[@BasicLib]

@@Ray-xr3gj thank you for actually doing the research. some people just instinctively jump to say shit they don't know about due to preconceived notions

[@PaulBen19]

Not anymore baby. Unless the state get it's act together they'll never be the most powerful state ever again.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

You know, I've been hearing from Fox News what a dystopia and how anti-business California is, how there is a great exodus of people leaving the state. That was when California was the 6th largest economy in the world. Now it's the 5th largest economy in the world and Fox News keeps saying the same things despite the homes being in extreme demand. Used to be Republicans tried to court Californians, Ronald Reagan was from the state, but now all they can do is attack California via propaganda and policy. Few would ever want to vote for the party that tries to defund the state, that demands refunds for federal funds already spent, that offers no path forward for California, only retribution. Not being a swing state has certainly hurt California politically.

[@gentlegiant4067]

We still are. What are you talking about, we've got the fifth largest economy in the world. We put in more money for every dollar than other states. Compare it to most of the southern bible belt states who take out more money from the federal government than they put in. If California were to leave the union which we would never do because we aren't traiitors like the south who believes it will rise again which rest assured will be put down again. People love to hate on California and they don't even live in it. Not sure why other states have beef with California probably because we have it good compared to most of the union. Every major geographical region on earth can be experienced in this one state.

[@IRmightynoob]

@@gentlegiant4067 Your state has beef because of its perceived political views, real and imagined, and from the time I lived in LA a few years ago, its overrun with homeless, still has massive gang problems, and has never actually addressed many of its social problems. Which to me, is more marks against LA then California as a state, because NYC is much the same. To put it bluntly, nobody has anything against California, but people DO have alot of problems with Los Angeles.

[@gentlegiant4067]

@@IRmightynoobShows how little you lived in California. When I was in high school, we couldn't wear certain hats due to the gang association even if they were sports hats. Now a days most schools don't really care because the gang problem isn't as big as of an issue as it was before. My little brother is going to the same school I went to and they literally don't care because it's a non issue now. Like I said, people like to only talk about the bad and not the good. Like you said you only talk about LA and marks against it than California as a state. I've been to Houston and the homeless problem there is genieuly awful. The difference is that in California we try to help them. Not just ignore them.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

@@IRmightynoob "Nobody has anything against California" I very much doubt that.

[@inadaizz]

!anotherone