California’s Decline: A Warning to America

April 25, 2026
San Diego, California
Mises Circle
California was once known as a powerhouse for entrepreneurs, the middle class, and businesses. Today, it's known for high taxes, bureaucrats, and leftwing billionaires. Is this a warning to the rest of America?
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San Diego 2026 Circle

Murray Rothbard famously stated that “the state is a gang of thieves writ large.”

California was once known as a powerhouse for entrepreneurship, a thriving middle class, and a good place for business. Today, the state is known for high taxes, government bureaucrats, and leftwing billionaires.  

Residents must constantly consider the tradeoffs between California the place and California the state. How did it get this way? Is this a warning for the rest of America?

Join the Mises Institute on Saturday, April 25 in San Diego to engage with old friends and meet new like-minded people while enjoying enlightening talks and lively discussion. 

Speakers

Peter Klein: Carl Menger Research Fellow at the Mises Institute and Academic Director of Baylor’s Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise

Ryan McMaken: Editor in Chief of the Mises Institute, former economist for the State of Colorado, and cohost of the Radio Rothbard, Loot & Lobby, and Power and Market podcasts

Edward Fuller: Author of economics books A Financial Theory of the Business Cycle and The World at War, as well as articles in the Cambridge Journal of Economics, The Independent Review, and the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics

Chris Calton: Research Fellow in Housing and Homelessness at the Independent Institute and former Mises Institute Research Fellow

Connor O’Keeffe: Staff writer at the Mises Institute, host of the Guns & Butter podcast, and cohost of the Power and Market podcast

Bill Anderson: Senior editor and Fellow of the Mises Institute

Schedule

We’ll meet at the San Diego Mission Bay Resort on Saturday, April 25. Registration is $80 for Mises Members and $95 for nonmembers. Each ticket includes all lectures, a catered breakfast, and a catered lunch. 

Preliminary Schedule:

8:30 a.m. - Registration begins, breakfast and bookstore open

9:30 a.m. - Welcome and opening remarks

9:35 a.m. - Peter Klein, “What Happened to the University of California?”

10:05 a.m. - Chris Calton, “How Democratic Socialism Created California’s Housing Crisis”

10:35 a.m. - Break, bookstore open

10:50 a.m. - Bill Anderson, “Where California Went Wrong”

11:20 a.m. - Connor O’Keeffe, “Unnatural Disasters: How the State Makes Wildfires Bigger and Deadlier”

12:00 p.m. - Lunch begins

12:45 p.m. - Ryan McMaken, “America’s States Are Too Big and Too Centralized”

1:15 p.m. - Edward Fuller, “Keynes and the State”

1:45 p.m. - Break, bookstore open

2:00 p.m. - Speaker Panel with audience questions

3:00 p.m. - Adjourn

Nearby Hotels

While there are rooms available at the San Diego Mission Bay Resort, there are several other hotel options within 15 minutes of the property. Some option are:

Publicity Waiver: Registering for this event gives the Mises Institute permission to take photos, record videos, and receive statements of and from attendees for promotional purposes. By this authorization, attendees understand and agree that no participant shall receive remuneration and that all rights, title and interest to the photos, videos, and statements and use thereof belong to the Mises Institute.