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I think California succeeds in spike of its political system, not because of it. The bay area has fantastic weather, a cultured urban center, plenty of nearby outdoor activities, and a climate of technological innovation that predates many of the problems with the political system. I have never personally visited L.A. but it is also reported to have excellent weather, and is clearly a center of the entertainment industry (this development once again occurring before their problems got really bad). I've lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle for most of my life, and have wanted to move to California, but have not done so precisely because of the high taxes and the dysfunctional politics, which make some sort of disaster seem almost inevitable. The question is not how it survives, but how much better it could be if the system worked properly given the number of advantages that the state enjoys.