As July heads past the mid-point, California still does not have a budget.

This inability to get simple things accomplished underscores how far the Golden State has slipped behind its chief political rival, Texas.

The July 11 edition of the Economist elaborates on the California-Texas rivalry, pointing out that among other things, Texas seems to have learned a lot from the oil industry collapse of the late 1980s, while California has learned nothing from the dot-com collapse of a decade ago.

On July 25, the Los Angeles Times speculated that California could lose a seat in Congress for the first time, while Texas is expected to pick up as many as four.

California might pride itself as being the world’s eighth largest economy, but others are catching up quickly.