Almost every story about poverty in California mentions the high cost of housing as a key component. So far, so good. But other costs imposed on those living here, taken together, can add up quickly and explain, in part, why a lot of people want to leave.

It’s just very expensive to live in many parts of the state, and the leaders elected by California voters are always busy devising ways to get more of your money into their pockets.

The solution is for elected officials at the municipal, county and state levels to acknowledge they get gobs of cash from myriad sources, more than enough to fulfill basic governmental obligations. Then the next really big step would be to accept that they should avoid carving out slices of it to finance their latest whims.

Yeah, it’s hard to live in California if you don’t have a good sense of humor.

Read more at The Press Enterprise.