Simply stated, the Democrats who've run Portland and Seattle into the ground dole out all sorts of "benefits" to appease their voters. They do it in California as well, but the cost of living due to tax burden in the "Golden" State is still too high, even with rent control and public assistance. Picture it like this: California, Washington and Oregon are dogs, and they each have a bad case of ticks, but California is being sucked dry by its parasites while the other two are just sick and exhausted from them.