EDITORIAL A REAL POWER CRISIS CALIFORNIA'S 54-MEMBER CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION FAILS THE STATE.

THERE'S no good reason why Californians should get back only 88 cents for every $1 they spend on federal taxes.

But there are 54 bad ones.

We could cite them by name, starting with Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and going down the list of all 52 Californian members of the House of Representatives.

California has the country's largest congressional delegation, accounting for more than a tenth of the House. It should be be a congressional powerhouse. Instead, it's a legislative powder puff.

A new California Institute study finds that in fiscal year 2001-02, California, although first in population, ranked 40th in returns on federal tax dollars. That's the 14th straight year in the red, the last seven straight increasingly so.

Not that Congress should be a place where each side selfishly fights for its own, as the national interest is served in all 50 states. But there should be some fairness in federal appropriations.

And that's not the the way Washington works today.

If anything, California is a state that deserves an extra-large portion of federal funds, seeing that among other things, its public services are overwhelmed with illegal immigrants due to failed federal policies. With its many drivers and the millions they spend in federal gas taxes, California should also receive ample federal highway funds.

Instead, the state gets nickel-and-dimed at every turn. It bears the burden for Washington's inability to protect the national borders, and gets only 9 cents for every dime it spends on federal gas taxes.

The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of our members of Congress, who are more interested in preserving their power and position than in serving their constituents back home. While many undoubtedly work hard for their districts and do good work, collectively, their one bona fide accomplishment this past year was a bipartisan commitment with the state Legislature's help to create new, gerrymandered districts that all but guarantee incumbents lifetime job security since virtually all the districts are safely held by one party or the other.

If the state's members of Congress would only be so united and diligent about policy issues affecting average people, California would have no problem getting its fair share.

As Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, explains, ``The formulas for federal funding are arbitrary.'' If they were modified, federal money could be distributed more fairly. But, Schiff notes, California's Democrats and Republicans, who have only recently agreed to start holding joint policy meetings, are ``up against delegations like Texas and New York that speak with one voice on state issues.''

California has no unified voice, just 54 separate politicians focused on their own advancement and their partisan and ideological agendas.

This is the state's true power crisis.