The State of California is approaching financial calamity as lawmakers there are unable to agree on a budget that closes a $41 billion deficit. California’s absurd budgeting laws that make tax increases virtually impossible, and require dozens of referendum-approved budget mandates, have rendered the state powerless to move on. Governor Schwarzenegger announced plans to lay off 20,000 state workers today, including the shutting down of major public works projects. With ideological Republicans refusing to raise taxes – even with massive spending cuts across the board – the state cannot make ends meet. The state clearly needs to scrap its state constitution and create a new one if it ever plans to climb out of this perennial hole. But that’s down the road. For now, the California Dream, driven in recent years by the subprime mortgage boom, has been turned upside down.

Nothing symbolizes the death of the California dream better than this video of a foreclosure “trash out team” in the Inland Empire near San Bernardino. For the meaning of “California Urn,” see especially the 2:56 mark of this video.