"None could accept the idea that their state had a spending problem rather than a revenue problem"

"For roughly 60 years, Berkeley has offered more services to its residents than virtually any other city in the U.S."

This should point out to him his mistake, I would think. He is assuming that the correct answer is to lower taxes (or keep them the same) and spend less. But this isn't a correct (or wrong) answer, it is one option. Maybe people in California would rather pay higher taxes and get more services. It works pretty well for a lot of European countries.