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David - all reasonable complaints and you have my sympathy. I will say that many of those are endemic to 21st century living/business ownership throughout the country (eg trial lawyers) rather than being CA-specific. I have no doubt that some aspects of CA laws have swung too far in one direction. Part of that is due to them being on the other side of the pendulum in the past (labor and AQ). The trick is balance. China is learning that the hard way at the moment, especially with AQ.
As for traffic I don't know that more lanes will solve it. There are more systemic issues that need to be addressed. Urban sprawl is a major culprit (driven by the desire for real estate profits) and instead lifestyles and business functions need to change. For the life of me I don't understand people who will buy a home that is over an hour away from where they work. There is a mindset of what constitutes "the American Dream" that often doesn't change with the times. For instance I rent as I was priced out and then thankfully wasn't stubborn enough to buy at the peak of the market just because. Many aspects to the decision, but we're not in the 60's or 70's or 80's or 90's any more. Things change. Adapt or die is the rule of nature but humans seem to think we're above that.
I am 3rd generation SoCal and love it here. I also am realistic - there are things I won't be able to do due to costs. At some point that may drive me from the state but it'll be my choice and I won't blame the state for it. There are reasons so many people live here and will continue to live here.
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