California Wakes Up From Its Dream

For the first time, the water level in Lake Oroville is expected to fall so low the state’s hydropower plant could shut down, just as electricity demands peak. For the first time, the census numbers showed California will lose a congressional seat. For the first time since it joined the union in 1850, the state historically synonymous with unbridled expansion actually shrank.

These are not the kinds of firsts California is accustomed to. They have sapped the collective sense of zealous optimism that long characterized the state’s seductive appeal. Despite the population loss, there is not enough housing, not enough water, not enough university slots and not enough good jobs.

California is facing limits, and the wrenching process of learning to live within them will test its leaders and redefine the state. The staggering reality of 2020 has demanded a reckoning: to ignore the urgency will condemn Californians to decades of pain, a burden that will fall most heavily on those least equipped to cope.

Too many reckonings have already been shrugged away. The median house price increased 24 percent the past year, while housing production lagged far behind. Internal migration is reshaping the state, as remote work and quarantines sent people out of cities in search of space in rural communities and suburbs. Amid a drought that already dwarfs the last one, politicians have been skittish about imposing restrictions.

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