"In recent years, California has begun, sometimes boldly, sometimes tentatively, a reinvestigation of the idea that government may not be a dirty word. From raising taxes on those with annual incomes over $250,000, to shifting money toward the schools of poor children, from seeking environmental alliances with other countries to limit global warming, to the rejection of military solutions to the problems posed by illegal immigration, California has been a laboratory of innovation. These are clear, if not always consistent, indications that Californians are not content to pursue the "race to the bottom" right-wing philosophy that has gone mostly unchallenged since the fall of the Communism. That model of endorsing privatization, deregulation, and reductions in government spending, eschewing subsidies, minimal government interference in business, and a tax system that disproportionately favors the wealthy, is exemplified by Rick Perry's vision for Texas and rejected by the pragmatic liberal Jerry Brown. This liberal mindset, forged in the crucible of the tumultuous last half century, is California's true contribution to not only the county, but the world"--