"People in these states don't drive on federally-funded roads"
They don't pay federal gas taxes, either? You might do better picking something better than federal road spending when trying to defend California, incidentally.
But that's the problem you face when you try to reduce distinctly different things like federal and state spending to "But California really has a surplus, honest!"
"Right-wingers are keen on talking about trickle-down"
So? They're also big on "starve the beast" deficit spending, but that hasn't worked in California, either.
ETA: Suggestion - disengage from your partisan reflexes. Think. Remember than the Republican Party in California has been as much of a contributor to the problem as the Democratic one, at least in proportion to how much power they have had, if that helps.
California's in trouble. It'll certainly survive and improve, but the spending cuts and tax hikes that they'll have to have this time (or if they sweat and bluff it through a few more years, the next time there's an economic downturn) will be far from fun.
They don't pay federal gas taxes, either? You might do better picking something better than federal road spending when trying to defend California, incidentally.
But that's the problem you face when you try to reduce distinctly different things like federal and state spending to "But California really has a surplus, honest!"
"Right-wingers are keen on talking about trickle-down"
So? They're also big on "starve the beast" deficit spending, but that hasn't worked in California, either.
ETA: Suggestion - disengage from your partisan reflexes. Think. Remember than the Republican Party in California has been as much of a contributor to the problem as the Democratic one, at least in proportion to how much power they have had, if that helps.
California's in trouble. It'll certainly survive and improve, but the spending cuts and tax hikes that they'll have to have this time (or if they sweat and bluff it through a few more years, the next time there's an economic downturn) will be far from fun.