Is Orange County Too Rich For its Own Good?

The Political Fighting Over the Southern California Region Misses All the Ways that Wealth Hollows Out the County’s Dynamism

California has a peculiar peril: Our state is becoming too rich for its own good.

For evidence, just look at Orange County.

The dangers of too much wealth have not been much of a topic this fall as the county of 3.2 million—more than the population of 21 states—hosts a national political war over control of Congress. But they should be. Because, for all the conversation about our state’s considerable problems with poverty, today’s wealth may be a greater threat to California’s future.

By the statistics, Orange County looks as flawless …

When the President’s Best and Brightest Were Also the Richest

The Practice of Tapping the Moneyed Elite Began with WWI—and Was Surprisingly Scandal-Free

From our earliest days we Americans have embraced leaders from among the ranks of the nation’s moneyed elite. Voters set the tone when they chose George Washington, the wealthiest …

The Word of the Summer Is “Victoriotic”

Donald Trump Is the Epitome of Constant Bragging About Inflated Success, But We’re All Guilty, Especially in California

It’s the word of the summer: Victoriotic.

You won’t find it in the Oxford English Dictionary or Merriam-Webster, at least not yet.

It began its life as an epithet, hurled by …