Minus Silicon Valley and the military installations California would have no economy.
Try harder. Our agriculture feeds the nation, which includes you and your toothless cousins... :)
But homes in east la and rural northern california are cheap.
The well-paying jobs are in the cities, that's why living there is so expensive. The Bay Area is by far the worst, that's correct, but then ... that's where you'll find the best jobs, the best entertainment, the best beaches ... . Nobody in his or her right mind would move to rural California voluntarily (unless you commute to and from Silicon Valley once a week like many people are forced to these days). You wouldn't want to live in Appalachia or rural Alabama either, would you?
...ideas the uneducated and the unwashed gun-and-bible teens get from their religious leaders
Assorted BS for teens and adults from different "churches" (in no particular order):
Earth is only 6000 years old (Young Earth Creationists)
We don't need doctors, we use faith healing (Followers of Christ Church)
Oppose vaccinations and blood transfusions (Jehova's Witnesses)
True love waits (miscellaneous religious nutters)
Roy Moore is a good guy (Southern Baptists)
Support Trump (Southern Baptists)
...