San Francisco ( CNN ) -- We have reached San Francisco , the end of our almost 4,000 km journey from Chicago . Here , I am meeting the former mayor Willie Brown . He ran the city for eight years from 1996 to 2004 , and before that was the speaker of California 's legislative assembly for 15 years . The weather here is spectacular . It is in the 20s , and unusual to have such glorious warm days so late in the year . It makes the Golden Gate Bridge glisten . San Francisco must surely be the most beautiful of cities . But the beauty should not mask the terrible financial mess the state faces . Gallery : Images from the journey . It would take a voting catastrophe for President Barack Obama to lose in California . The state has n't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988 . But the president ( and the country ) must listen closely to the trends coming from here , because what starts in California often ends up spreading across the country . Also there are some crucial Congressional elections which , if they go badly , would make it much harder for the Democrats to regain control of the House . In California they are worried about the economy and jobs . The unemployment rate , at 10.2 % , is the third highest in the country . Immigration and health are also big concerns . But here , they are used to a higher standard of living and superb college system : One which is now crumbling . There is a state budget deficit which would make even the eurozone blush . In May the Governor of California , Jerry Brown , announced the deficit was $ 16 billion . With the potential to balloon even higher unless something is done . Read more : Romney 's university worlds apart . With these facts , today 's California is starting to look a lot like austerity Europe . Think about it . Over the past few years , California has made deep cuts in education , social services , and even releasing some prisoners early to save money . It has proposed raising income and sales taxes to close this stubborn budget gap , that is dangerously large and wo n't go away while the economy languishes . There are more similarities . In the past , when California fell on hard times , it could rely on a rising national economy to pick up the slack . After all , the U.S. economy is one large locomotive , and when one state falls on hard times the others can lend a hand . That ca n't happen this time , because nationally there is no extra economic oomph to pick up the slack . It is exactly the same as the eurozone , where even the German growth engine ca n't pull everyone out of recession . As the International Monetary Fund noted in the latest World Economic Outlook , everyone is cutting deficits at the same time and this makes a bad situation worse . California is as much a victim of this as any European country . Colorado : Will frontier state call election ? I do n't want to push this analogy too far . California 's economy is in better fundamental shape than many eurozone countries . What I am suggesting is that the European austerity , which so far has not hit most of America , has well and truly arrived . This trend setting state is one of the first to truly feel the longer-lasting effects which I have no doubt will spread -- whoever wins the election . Austerity California is a glimpse of the future for America ; the rest of the country , blinded by extravagant election promises , just does n't yet realize it .
CNN 's Richard Quest has arrived in San Francisco , where he will meet former mayor Willie Brown . This is a beautiful city but the state of California is in a financial mess . Whoever is voted president must watch the trends coming from this state closely . The state is in times of austerity -- reflecting what is happening in the eurozone .