Problems that are here in California
With the political maelstroms in Washington D.C., it’s easy to overlook California’s own pressing problems.
Recently, Gov. Gavin Newsom submitted his 2021-22 state budget proposal, which would make California’s troubles go from bad to worse. The $227.2 billion fiscal blueprint increases government unions’ power and wealth, pouring gasoline on California’s myriad public policy fires.
More government spending won’t fix the economic problems facing the state. California has the country’s seventh-highest unemployment rate, with 1.5 million people looking for work. Poverty, economic opportunity, and income inequality are all among the worst in the nation.
The state’s strict COVID-19 restrictions have caused immense small business pain for little-to-no apparent gain.
Hospitalizations per capita are near the highest in the country, and many ICUs are overrun.
California’s tax and regulatory burden are downright European, making it very difficult for small businesses to stay profitable even at the best of times. Californians earning a mere $59,000 per year face a 9.3% tax rate. Yet, Golden State residents get almost nothing in return for their massive tax burdens. Schools are failing (when they’re open), homelessness is out of control, infrastructure resembles the Third World, and first responders are slow to arrive, if they come at all. That’ll get worse to the extent California communities succeed in defunding police.
Electricity rates are among the highest in the nation, and $4 a gallon gas raises everyone’s cost of living. Meanwhile, the green mandates that drive up energy prices haven’t helped the environment, as annual forest fires due to a lack of forest management destroy air quality and decimate entire cities. Recurrent blackouts mean Californians don’t even get reliable energy in return for their high bills.
As a result of this climate, businesses and people are fleeing the state. In recent months, top executives, including Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, and Keith Rabois, have fled, taking tens of billions of economic activity and tax dollars with them.
Census figures show that this out-migration isn’t limited to the top 1%, with more people moving out than moving in over the last few years.
No wonder there’s a recall effort against Gov. Newsom that’s quickly gaining steam. Even the mainstream media has caught on to the political ramifications of the consequences. “Newsom scrambles to save California — and his career,” reads a recent Politico headline.
Now Gov. Newsom is about to make things worse with a budget that further diverts state resources into government unions’ pockets. California’s government unions already collect nearly one billion dollars annually in dues payments that are partly used to elect politicians who — like Newsom — will do their bidding.
His budget proposal calls for roughly $90 billion in education funding, the highest level in state history. Parents are currently paying for tutoring and supplies that would have otherwise been provided in classrooms. Given that it will be months before teachers return, parents bearing the costs of educating their kids at home might wonder if this is a misdirection of resources.
The budget directs a total of $7 billion in pandemic- related support to schools and students. These funds are in addition to the billions of dollars that California schools have already received in federal aid. Yet classrooms don’t need to resemble hospitals. They can already return with the same added cost-effective precautions seen in the rest of the economy. Newsom’s additional funds are little more than a payoff to teachers unions cajoling
them to reopen classrooms. The budget directs roughly one billion dollars to expand transitional kindergarten, which offers teachers unions an opportunity to further grow their ranks by organizing early childhood educators. The budget press release notes, “The Administration has already begun the collective bargaining process with representatives of child care providers to negotiate a memorandum of understanding that governs the payments made to these providers.”
Californians have more than enough to be concerned about here at home without worrying about what’s going on in Washington, D.C. Gov. Newsom’s budget will only make the problems worse by further empowering government unions responsible for them in the first place.