In the three decades since mr brown 's last reign , voters had created , through the cumulative effect of ballot initiatives , a byzantine system of governance , taxation and budgeting that left california helpless when the great recession hit .
Byzantine regulations , high and complex taxes and legislative gridlock are driving out businesses , while high personal taxes are driving out the rich and a disintegrating social safety net is pushing away the poor .
Surprising , perhaps , given that both the internet and gps began as pentagon experiments ; but when it comes to acquisitions , the services are often hampered by long budgeting cycles and byzantine contracting procedures .
And it 's just a tenth of the $ 1.1 trillion a year that could be saved if the tax code were stripped of the byzantine mess of tax breaks , many of which disproportionately benefit the rich but also benefit those lower down the income scale .