One thing that HAS worked, I must admit, is pollution control. When I moved here, the air pollution was as bad as Los Angeles and there were 20 to 30 days when a brown pall hung over Silicon Valley and you couldn't see across the bay. Today, that is extremely rare and we usually have very clean air.
This list in the article is just amazing...
There was a similar post a couple weeks ago pointing out that, when you adjust for all these bad factors, the state ranks about #35 overall in the country, not near the top.
And that was because of Ronald Reagan and the catalytic converter.
Before I moved to Ca in the 70s, someone told me after you say it has great weather, there is not much in its favor. When I settled there, I agreed with the weather aspect but the state had a lot to offer besides the weather. Frankly I thought it was paradise. By the mid 80s, I began to see the slide. I finally had it in the early 90s and moved to Texas.
We have been back to visit almost every other year and notice that what I had seen as slippage in the 90s has become an off the cliff drop albeit the weather is still great!