it's still strange to hear (read) a californian say it since it always felt like a uniquely texan obsession comparing themselves to california and i felt it was lofty at best (and collective short-guy syndrome at worst) since california has around 33% to 50% more of everything than texas except land area.

because of that:

california + texas can steamroll the rest of the nation

california + new york can steamroll the rest of the nation

california + florida can steamroll the rest of the nation

no combination of the others can do the same, except maybe all three; meaning that california is an outlier so comparisons to it are mostly self defeating and comparisons to new york or florida seemed non-existent when i lived in texas.