Conversely, Trump and other Republicans will point to California as an example of liberalism gone wild and warn that if Democrats take over in Washington, they will impose California values on the rest of the nation.

An example to emulate or one to avoid?

The Economist, a journal of deep political thinking, took a crack at California’s reality in a recent article comparing the state to its arch economic and political rival, Texas.

Overall, the British magazine seemed to give Texas the better of it, citing the out-migration of Californians to Texas, California’s housing shortage and high costs, its highest-in-the-nation poverty, and its shortcomings in education.

The Economist quotes a leading in-state critic, Chapman University’s Joel Kotkin with this appraisal: “The Golden State used to be a rising tide lifting all sorts of boats. Now it’s a rising tide lifting a few yachts.”

Kotkin is basically saying what Newsom is saying. California has many attributes, but unless it can somehow close its yawning socioeconomic gaps, it will, indeed, continue its evolution into a two-tiered society – of the sort often found in the third world – that would be unworthy of emulation.

CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.