Jeff Bridges, left, stars as The Dude and John Goodman plays Walter Sobchak in the 1998 movie “The Big Lebowski.” California is experiencing Lebowskization.

Twelve long years ago, I was the first to warn you of the creep of a dangerous new disease:

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That’s my term for the bummer-fact that Californians increasingly resemble Jeffrey Lebowski, aka The Dude. Played by Jeff Bridges in the 1998 film “The Big Lebowski,” The Dude is an aging, bowling, cocktail-drinking, Creedence-loving, underemployed stoner who retired the trophy for most laidback Californian ever.

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I thought my warning would inspire a cultural U-turn, a return to harder work and healthier living among the square community. Instead, you ignored my warning, perhaps more concerned by the supposedly greater threats of fire, debt or Donald Trump.

Left unchecked, Lebowskization is no longer creeping. It is spreading faster than Ebola. No dude, dudette or dudex in California can escape.

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Some might say, “Well, that’s like just your opinion, man.”

But Dudeian economic figures are a freakin’ travesty.

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Lebowski used to stand out because he didn’t hold a steady job. Today, that makes him mainstream. Some 10% of California adults are........

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