Most Californians have become insular. Our state’s problems have made them fail to look beyond our borders. Maybe Chinese President Hu’s visit with President Obama will wake people up.

During Gov. Jerry Brown’s first term in office, beginning in 1975, China still was ruled by the mass-murdering socialist Mao Zedong. Its economy was small and pathetic; millions of Chinese had starved to death under the Great Leap Forward. After Mao died, China shifted to capitalism. Boy, did they.

Today, California is being convulsed by AB 32’s Maoist regulation of our economy. This California Great Leap Forward is supposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions here by 25% by 2020, while generating vast numbers of new jobs through a complicated Maoist regulation scheme. California has about 2% of the global economy. So, that would mean reducing greenhouse gases globally by just 0.5%. Close to nothing.

Meanhwhile, among the matters discussed in the Hu-Obama meeting, is: “Mr Hu’s visit follows a two-year period in which China initially snubbed the US on climate change….”

They’re going to keep snubbing Obama — and California. They want their economy to grow, and that’s that. That’s why, in about 10 years or less, their economy will be bigger than ours. They’ll pay lip service to “climate change” — the new euphemism for global warming — while selling us all the solar panels we need for businesses to meet AB 32’s draconian energy reductions.

California, formerly the world’s leader, has become a backward-looking, Maoist dystopia as China is surging to become the world economic leader.

Typically, almost nobody in California sees what’s going on. If they did, they would:

* Cut state spending enough to balance the budget.

* Instead of raising taxes, cut taxes so our industries can grow and compete with China.

* Repeal AB 32, SB 375 and other Maoist regulations.

But none of that is going to happen. I suggest taking a course in Mandarin.

Jan. 19, 2011