U-Haul just released its annual “Growth Index” for all 50 states. For the 6th straight year, California is ranked No. 1 in the nation for people moving out versus moving in. To celebrate this latest milestone, I invited Will Swaim to offer a few reasons as to why 2 million people have left California, and why so many more are poised to follow. If you still live here, as I do, I think you’ll be familiar with many of these reasons, all of which can be easily confirmed by your favorite AI assistant. If you don’t live here, and find yourself thinking, “well, this is what the people voted for,” I won’t disagree with that analysis. Government is like television in that way – we tend to get what we deserve. But Will Swaim is not here to discourage you from coming to California – he’s here to tell you that California is coming to you – at least, if our current Governor winds up in White House. And, as the Director of The California Policy Institute, Will wants America to understand the following:
California ranks 48th in education.
California has the highest housing costs in the U.S.
California has the highest unemployment rate in the country.
California has the highest energy prices, highest gas prices, and highest marginal tax rate of any state.
California is #1 in homelessness.
After spending $24 billion to fix the homeless problem, the money is unaccounted for and now the problem is even worse than it was.
California spent $14 BILLION on a “high-speed” train that was supposed to connect LA & SF by 2020—but hasn’t laid a mile of track.
Fraudsters stole $33 billion from California’s unemployment system, including $20 billion in a federal loan that Governor Newsom refuses to repay.
Federal investigators just caught Governor Newsom in a conspiracy to hide gender-transition plans in public schools.
California wants to confiscate 5% of billionaire wealth — and those billionaires are already leaving the state.
California’s aggressive climate mandates often outpace practical implementation, creating blackouts.
California lawmakers voted to make abortion available to anyone from anywhere in the world — at taxpayer expense.
Despite the highest gasoline taxes in the U.S., California roads are among the worst in America.
For decades, California has allowed environmentalists to block brush clearance and other wildfire-risk reduction efforts, turning small fires into deadly disasters.
In spite of doubling government spending, Governor Newsom wants to raise taxes yet again and provide free Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants.
Governor Newsom has also pushed for reparations to people who never were enslaved from taxpayers who never owned them, in a state where slavery has always been illegal.
Governor Newsom has signed 5,710 new laws in 7 years—a quarter of all new state laws passed in the U.S. in a state with the nation’s most complicated regulatory system.
Governor Newsom has forbidden state employees from traveling to states whose politics he despises (like Montana) yet he travels to these states repeatedly.
Governor Newsom temporarily paused the statute of limitations for sexual assault cases which led to a bevy of lawsuits costing the state and its counties billions of dollars.
Governor Newsom signed an anti-harassment bill that led to an explosion of child sex trafficking that has turned downtown LA into a thriving marketplace for predators.
We don’t cover all of these points in the attached conversation, but we do cover a few – enough I hope, to encourage people who live outside of California to keep a close eye on what’s happened to the Golden State. Personally, I’m still amazed the voters forgave the Governor for violating his own mandates by dining at French Laundry, even as his constituents were being arrested for surfing and walking on the beach. I don’t believe that level of hypocrisy should ever be forgotten, and like many of you, I have little sympathy for an electorate that would vote to give such a person further control over their lives.
On the other hand, like Will Swaim, I still live here and would prefer to keep it that way. But if you ask me why, I’m afraid I still can’t provide a persuasive reason…
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