For most of its history, California has occupied a special place in the mind of most Americans. From the height of the Gold Rush through the 1980s, California’s warm weather and booming economy drew enterprising, educated and talented immigrants from across the country. California was the melting pot of America’s melting pot, leading all states in the number of residents who were born in other U.S. states.
As I wrote in The Washington Examiner’s “California in Crisis” series last week, that California is dead and gone. According to a 2012 University of Southern California study on state demographics, you have to go back to the early 1990s to find a time when more Americans were moving to California than leaving it for other states. Thanks to high housing prices and a weak job market, California is now a net exporter of U.S. citizens to other states.
