Restraint and Innovation in California
The California Dream is in danger of becoming the California Nightmare. Often viewed in the imagination of Americans and immigrants as the optimal dream land within the American Dream, California remains one of the most popular destinations for Americans and immigrants. However, Maasik and Solomon (2005) argue that this dream is heavily tarnished due to a number of pressing social, political and environmental issues: ôOverpopulation has brought environmental degradation and social strife, the specter of a water-deprived future, traffic jams, road rage, and racial divisionùnot to mention sky-high real estate prices and rental ratesö (3). These issues must be rectified through restraint and innovation in order to prevent the California Dream from becoming the California Nightmare.
The California Dream is threatening to become the California Nightmare due to a number of pressing social, political and environmental issues. Large numbers of immigrants, traffic congestion and its attendant pollution, water scarcity and degradation, high real-estate prices and rental rates, education budget cuts and numerous other cuts all contribute to a declining quality of life for Californians. This is particularly true in sprawling metropolises like Los Angeles, San Diego, and the San Fernando Valley among others. As Maasik and Solomon (2005) maintain, ôWith the dream so threatened by so many harsh realities, it is difficult to come up with simple remedies for CaliforniaÆs current problemsö (4). This is why restraint and innovation must occur on a specific basis for each issue that threatens the California Dream, chief among them immigration, traffic congestion, and water issues.
Immigration restraint and innovation are necessary to prevent the California Dream from turning into the California Nightmare. The inability of CaliforniaÆs policymakers to budget ample resources for healthcare, em...