It's not the government we voted for, it's the propositions we voted for. So much of the tax money is preassigned by propositions that the legislature is left fighting over less than half of the state income. And then we have made it so hard to change things that are cast in concrete that we run into problems when the economy goes bad. We rely on income taxes to a greater extent than most states because it hasn't (yet) been limited by propositions as have property and sales taxes.

California taxes capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income. This means that when the economy is good the state has lots of income and when the economy is bad it doesn't. Most states rely on property taxes for a greater proportion of their taxes. So their government income is much more stable. But we made our bed and until we decide that some things are worth paying for (education, roads, mental health) we will be sleeping between rough sheets.

Our educational level has gotten so bad that a significant proportion of our present and former residents can't even spell the name of the state correctly.