The mountains are majestic, the seashore is splendid, but Golden State politics are pathetic.
California is in terrible shape. Starting with education, which I wrote about last week, just 29% of the state’s fourth-graders are proficient in reading. Only 11 states do worse. However, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. What follows is a sampling of how the once golden state is now tarnished.
Crime and poverty
Tom Del Beccaro, former chairman of the California Republican Party, notes, “California ranks third among states with the highest motor vehicle theft rates, with 14 out of every 1,000 registered vehicles being stolen.” Overall, California ranks 17th in national violent crime rates, with a 6.1% increase in reported violent crimes and a 6.2% increase in property crimes from 2021 to 2024.
Additionally, California leads the country in poverty, with 31% of Californians living at or near the poverty line. At the same time, the Pacific Research Institute discloses that, including federal, state, and local funds, California’s per capita spending on income support programs is 81% higher than the average expenditures for all other states: $3,869 compared to $2,141.
The governor
Many of the state’s problems can be attributed to Gov. Gavin Newsom. As noted by Victor Davis Hanson, Newsom recently enjoyed a $98 billion budget surplus, gifted to him from multibillion-dollar federal COVID-19 subsidies; yet, practically overnight, he turned it into a growing $45 billion budget deficit.
Newsom’s priorities stink, in one case literally. Earlier this year, the governor announced a new program of free diapers for newborns.
California ranks among the top 10 states in terms of homelessness, a pet project for Newsom, who has spent billions on the issue over the past four years, with only slight improvement. An April 2024 audit reveals that the state lacks data on the cost-effectiveness of its homelessness programs, despite spending nearly $24 billion over the past five fiscal years.
A climate hustler, Newsom has proposed a 15-year extension of California’s signature cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases—a cornerstone of the state’s climate policies.
The fires and insurance costs
In Los Angeles, which has just suffered some of the most devastating fires in the nation’s history, the fire chief is on record as “highlighting her DEI agendas rather than emphasizing traditional fire department criteria like response time or keeping fire vehicles running,” writes Victor Davis Hanson.
Hanson continues, “Ninety percent of the water from the northern rivers flows out to the sea. The aqueduct transfers that water down to LA. They should have had more water. They don’t. The insurance system is completely broken because of overregulation, fraud, and mismanagement by the state. So, you cannot buy fire insurance in most cases.”
It’s not only fire insurance that is costly. Data reveal that automobile insurance rates in the state increased by nearly 50% in 2024. Furthermore, per the California Department of Insurance, between 2020 and 2022, insurance companies declined to renew 2.8 million homeowner policies in the state.
Bleeding cash
Fiscally, California is in dire straits. The state has a $12 billion deficit, which Newsom takes no responsibility for. Instead, he blames President Trump.
Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare) called on Newsom to stop supporting a wasteful high-speed rail gambit and redirect the funding elsewhere.
Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher (R–Yuba City) called on Newsom to take responsibility for California’s failures.
“Newsom’s finger-pointing on the budget shortfall is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever seen from a politician, and he shovels out a lot of it. We’re in this mess because of his reckless spending, false promises, and failed leadership.”
Individual cities are also incurring deficits. California Globe’s Katy Grimes writes, Los Angeles has a budget deficit of over $1 billion, while San Francisco’s is $876 million, and San Diego’s debt exceeds $300 million.
Terrible laws
California is also home to some of the most ridiculous laws imaginable.
As of 2022, a law requires taxpayers to pay up to $400 million in union dues. As National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix points out, “The idea that they’re going to give union members a tax credit, which is really just a dollar for dollar reduction in the taxes they owe… is really just another example of how Gavin Newsom and the regressives in the California General Assembly in Sacramento are trying to trying to use governmental tax policy to get more workers into unions, which means more union dues for political expenditures.”
No surprise here. The state legislature is far left and in thrall to the California Teachers Association, which considers itself “the co-equal fourth branch of government,” per former Democratic State Senate leader Dom Perata.
SB 1375, another terrible idea, is now law. This horror allows nurses to perform abortions; no doctors need to be present.
Newsom also signed a law that decriminalizes jaywalking because of “racism.” The “Freedom to Walk Act” prevents law enforcement from stopping people who are crossing the street, not at a crosswalk, unless they are in visible danger. The law’s proponents insist that jaywalking is a racist crime because it is allegedly enforced unfairly in “communities of color” where people allegedly cannot afford to pay the fines.
People are leaving the state
The Public Policy Institute of California reports that a significant driver of the state’s population decline has been residents moving to other states. In a recent PPIC survey, 34% of Californians reported considering a move out of the state due to skyrocketing housing costs.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest statistics, the most significant gains from net domestic migration in 2022 were in saner states. Florida gained 318,855 citizens, Texas was up 230,961, and North Carolina saw an increase of 99,796. Conversely, California saw the most losses: 343,230.
If you decide to leave the state by car, it is advisable to do so soon. While the national average cost per gallon of gas in April was $3.26 and just $2.87 in Texas, California’s average price was $4.92. Worse, USC Professor Michael Mische warns that the price could rise to $8.43 a gallon next year.
Businesses are also leaving the state
Major companies, including Chevron, SpaceX, and Charles Schwab, have fled California.
In total, 441 businesses have left the state since 2018 and moved their headquarters elsewhere. High taxes, skyrocketing rent, soaring costs of living for employees, and mounds of red tape are just a few reasons cited by the businesses that have exited, with Texas being the primary destination state.
Is there any good news?
Steve Hilton is running for governor as a Republican in 2026. The former Fox News host and Silicon Valley executive is campaigning to reduce the immense size, cost, and waste of the state government. He would succeed term-limited Gov. Newsom, who—perish the thought—has his eyes on the White House.
John Seiler interviewed Hilton and asked him how he could break through the 40% ceiling of votes that Republicans have won in recent statewide elections. John Cox garnered just 38% against Newsom in 2018, and Brian Dahle 41% in 2022.
Hilton explains, “The majority of the people in California want change. My argument is the person who is going to win is the change candidate – and that’s going to be me. I would almost flip the question and say: How on earth could I possibly lose? My job is to make sure people know I’m the candidate who will bring the change. The fundamental issue is that it’s so tough for regular families in California. And it’s the Democrats who created this mess.”
Hilton referenced a United Way of California survey released April 29, which found that 35% of households “do not earn sufficient income to meet basic needs.” The rate is 54% for families with children under the age of 6. He blamed the high costs of housing, electricity, gas, etc. Additionally, he stated that small businesses are being “crushed by regulations.”
Unless something changes soon, the formerly Golden State should be remonikered, “The Imploding State.”
And because it’s the citizenry that has elected the people who are leading the implosion, we can’t look outside our borders for assistance. As comic icon Pogo the Possum once averred, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
First published at ForKidsAndCountry.org
