A recent study by the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank, ranked California 48th out of the 50 states in personal and economic freedom. The study also examines fiscal policy and regulatory policy. For the first time, California’s population decreased last year, resulting in the loss of a congressional seat. In the third quarter of this year, 150,000 more people on average left the state versus 60,000 net departures in the first quarter of last year. Between March 2020 and September 2021, there has been a 38% decrease in new arrivals. California has 58 counties, and new arrivals fell in every single one.
As to the loss of personal and economic freedom, consider the following examples.
As of the end of 2021, a publicly held company headquartered in California must have between one and three female board members, depending upon its size, or face a fine of $100,000. Proponents insist that female membership on boards of directors increases profits. One wonders why companies do not simply sack their male members in favor of an all-female board.
The California Department of Education has proposed an “equitable math” framework. California Political Review says the framework “promotes the concept that working to figure out a correct answer is an example of racism and white supremacy invading the classroom.”
As of January 1, 2022, California’s new bacon law is scheduled to take effect. According to the Associated Press: “Put simply, the law requires that breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves be given enough space to stand and turn around. For pigs, that means they no longer can be kept in narrow ‘gestation crates’ and must have 24 square feet of usable space.” Producers predict shortages and more expensive bacon and pork products.
In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, to continue the fight against “climate change,” signed a bill to eliminate gasoline powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers. Never mind that a spokesperson for the National Association of Landscape Professionals said a three-person landscaping crew will need to carry 30 to 40 fully charged batteries to power its equipment during a full day’s work. “These companies,” said the spokesperson, “are going to have to completely retrofit their entire workshops to be able to handle this massive change in voltage so they’re going to be charged every day.”
Then there’s the new law requiring large toy stores to set up “gender neutral” toy sections. Evan Low, the California Democratic Assemblyman who co-authored the bill said: “We need to stop stigmatizing what’s acceptable for certain genders and just let kids be kids. My hope is this bill encourages more businesses across California and the U.S. to avoid reinforcing harmful and outdated stereotypes.”
Meanwhile, as Democratic lawmakers protect children from harmful and outdated stereotypes, many kids educated in California public schools cannot read or perform math at state levels of proficiency, standards that are not particularly high. In 2019 barely half of kids in public schools were reading-proficient, while only 40% were math-proficient.
California’s jobless rate, 7.3%, ties with Nevada’s for last place. By contrast, Texas and Florida clock in at 5.4% and 4.6%, respectively. UCLA economist Lee Ohanian co-authored an August 2021 report on the tax and regulatory policies causing businesses to ditch California at an unprecedented rate. The report found: “Unless policy reforms reverse this course, California will continue to lose businesses, both large established businesses, as well as young, rapidly growing businesses, some of which will become transformational giants of tomorrow.”
California policies are expelling rich high-profilers. Elon Musk, currently the richest man in the world, is relocating his Tesla headquarters from California to Texas. Musk, who says he will pay $11 billion in taxes this year, had already moved his residence from Los Angeles to Austin. In a population of almost 40 million Californians, 1% of taxpayers account for nearly half of the state’s income tax revenues.
And Musk, the biggest of the one-percenters, just walked.
Newsom and the democratic party must be listed as a terrorist organization and its leaders arrested for treason and jailed. The complete destruction of a state from within.
Not just jailed, they need to go to Gitmo!
I see nothing wrong with a living, breathing, feeling animal being allowed enough space to stand up and turn around in, at the bare minimum. Bodies are made to MOVE, not to spend their entire lives cramped in a cage. It’s bad enough that humans still imprison them for food, etc., can’t we at least make their lives a little less miserable while they’re here? Whatever happened to compassion for others? Is that completely gone from the human makeup now? The fact that it’s included in this article says to me that the author feels there is no need for this change. Shame on you!!
I was born and raised in California when it was a Conservative State before the demonic democraps started destroying it! They took a beautiful state and reduced it to a state CRAWLING WITH CORRUPTION AND HOMELESS DESTROYING PRISTINE NATURAL HABITATS! Do NOT BELIEVE WHAT IDIOT NEWSOM SAYS about taking care of California because he is your typical democrat — dumb as dirt and stupid as slime!
All you have to do is look at Central and Northern California and all you’ll see is blackened forests covering hills from major fires that have ripped through those areas! Why the 🔥 fires? Because Newsom couldn’t be bothered cleaning the undergrowth in our forests and State Parks, so all it took was a spark to ignite that tinder undergrowth and fires roared through California! It is a depressing site to look at the charred landscapes and loss of neighborhoods across the North and Central areas!
The thousands upon thousands of Homeless crawling the streets of Los Angeles is where Newsom’s attention is at! The rest of the state can go to hell in a hand basket!!
The Democrats in California are destroying it faster than Global Warming and if the residents do not vote in A STRONG CONSERVATIVE GOVT, the deluded and obviously blatantly retarded democrats will further destroy what is left of my birthplace!
God help California because the Dems certainly won’t!
Newsom is your typical democrat that has no leadership abilities but runs that state from the seat of his pants — not the brain in his head! How he keeps getting back in office astounds me! Yet I know there are many Conservatives still in Calif that disapprove of his policies, complain, but nothing changes!
I used to think California had very little corruption, but after the last recall attempt on Newsom, I think there is a very powerful element behind the curtain controlling Newsom’s hand…and the destruction of the once free beautiful California state! Newsom either is an idiot or he has been brainwashed by someone who tells him he is doing great and California is thriving…it is not, it’s DYING A SLOW PAINFUL DEATH AT HIS HANDS!
For instance, the policies for pig farmers is going to force independent pig farmers to close their doors and move to greener, less rigid pastures in other states! Calif’s agriculture fields/farms are going to shrink because of the “LIBERAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS” idiotic laws to what? Save a pig from not being able to walk around when they are able to walk around, have mud puddles and plenty of food. The smaller restrictive pens are for mother hogs to keep them from rolling over on their piglets and killing them! Duh. It’s temporary pens til the piglets get bigger! So I ask you, WHERE DO THOSE IDIOT DEMS GET THEIR INFORMATION ABOUT PIGS, etc??! They obviously do not research their info but just react to someone’s statement! They are beyond pitiful leaders.
All the independent landscapers will not survive because of the no gas laws. So they,too, will be leaving Calif soon and with no landscapers to clean and design their yards, big $$ is going to vacate Cali also.
Elon Musk may be the first, but he won’t be the last of the $$ Exodus.
If the political party doesn’t change in Calif soon, there will be more and more exodus of $$ and young families because their children ARE NOT LEARNING BASIC SURVIVAL SKILLS OF MATH AND ENGLISH, also killing the survival of the family unit.
Actually, what does Calif have to offer to young families these days? Not much! It’s once pristine landscapes are burnt to the ground, it’s children are ignorant and hurting, it’s industries are leaving because they are taxed to death or regulated unnecessarily, the Homeless line the streets making life unsafe, AND NEWSOM ENJOYS HIS WINE VINEYARD, sipping and pretending all is well with Aunt Nancy Pelosi, the Wicked Witch of the West! AIN’T LIFE GRAND????! Who cares about California when you can go get drunk on your own wine?? “ME NO WORRY” says his Mad Magazine Tee shirt…
Good Luck California citizens! You have two choices:
1) Get rid of Newsom/Democrats and get Conservatives to fix your state. OR,
2). Evacuate to a more successful, Freedom of choice, moral state with less regulations!
CHOOSE…
I left Califonia few months back. I never looked back except missing my children which I hope will follow very very soon. It is very unfortunate that the 5 larger economy in a world can be such a looser. Where is PETE WILSON. Can not call President Regan to the rescue any more. NOBODY CAN HELP THIS SUPER DISFANCUAL STATE.
They could change the meaning of Tyranny with a one word explanation; Kalifornia. The people of Kalifornia have been reutilized by leftist Democratic Marxists who control everything now in this state. The one party rule has ravaged its people with massive taxes and regulations that have strangled our economy and forcing large and small businesses to leave this state. Once known as the Golden State, now people call it the shit hold state in the union. Many of the cities have been likewise taken over by leftwing on the fringe Democratic Marxists who locally pick up where Sacramento leaves off with over regulating its citizens with continued over regulations and city taxes. There seems to be no relief in site with elections becoming meaningless with ballot stuffing perfected with swamp dwelling individuals who are anti-American happy to participate in the corruption.