State of Confusion, California-style

As a follow-up to my earlier posts about my problems with Medi-Cal, I thought I'd post an update. Yesterday I received a notice from the County of San Diego that amounted to "nevermind."

The notice was automatically generated, stating that the county had received the "information that we needed" and would reinstate my Medi-Cal benefits. So, the whole imbroglio amounted to nothing, other than a waste of my time, my attorney's, and the county's itself. One wonders how often my little scenario has been repeated statewide, since the governor, allied with obstinate Republicans in the legislature, took a meat cleaver to government.

It seems the governor of this fine state hasn't realized that cutting 24% of the state's budget would have dire consequences, not only for the recipients of state services, but for the proper functioning of the state itself. If the State of California were a body, it's as if Surgeon Arnold cut off a leg and grabbed a crutch. You just can't hobble along on a crutch as easily as you can on your own two sturdy legs.

As the impaired state stumbles toward a near-complete breakdown, everyone will suffer. This is true not just for California's millions of residents, but for every American citizen. The decline and fall of the world's 6th largest economy will drag the whole nation down with it. The great inefficiencies induced by the recent decimation of California's budget will compound exponentially, possibly impeding the state's economic recovery indefinitely.

Grover Norquist, Republican strategist, once said that he wanted to shrink government down to the size where he could "drown it in the bathtub." Based on my experience, the rising tide of anti-government nihilism will sink all boats.