Too many people taking sucks California dry

We should all wonder why California, which boasts the eighth-largest economy in the world, is broke. Can't even cover payroll.

It should boggle the mind of any pragmatic and serious thinker: How could such a rich and diverse state possibly run out of money?

Every taxpayer and politician knows the answer: too many takers, not enough givers. Too much value, creation and wealth sucked into a black hole of entitlement mentality.

Too many gutless politicians, on both sides, perfectly willing to steal from the neighboring district or state or their own constituents, or even their constituents' grandkids. Too many people voting the same politicians back into office ad infinitum because they have, in effect, demonstrated their skills as good thieves, and we call them “effective representatives.”

I'm proud of our community's self-reliance. Our city, state and country will be successful, and a truly good place for our grandchildren to live, if we follow an Iowa model of self-reliance and pay-as-you-go.

We must recognize the relevance of the nanny state disaster that California has proved to be.

Marty Robinson

Cedar Rapids