Newsom the History-Maker
For 170 straight years, California’s population grew. Last year, we’ve just learned, it shrank by 182,000 people. Congratulations to Gavin Newsom on making history.
Apparently, history-making is a high. Yesterday Newsom was at it again, announcing the “largest economic recovery package in state history.” Channeling Dr. Evil, he demanded 100 billion dollars for this “California Comeback Plan.”
Other states don’t need a comeback plan, let alone one of literally comic proportions. They’ve been “back” for some time. Florida, which ended all COVID restrictions and banned vaccine passports, continues to vastly outperform California by any measure: education, the economy, and public health.
As the shiniest object in his “recovery” package, Newsom is dangling $600 checks. Politico’s headline summed it up: “Newsom wants to hand out cash before California recall election.”
It’s the classic playbook of corrupt regimes: massively overtax people, squander the proceeds through graft, and return small sums as a “gift” at opportune times. Even Gray Davis’ top operative says Newsom is “playing Santa Clause.”
But what kind of a “recovery” does Newsom have in mind? He forecasts 8.5 percent unemployment for this entire year and says jobs in California won’t return to pre-COVID levels until 2025. That’s apparently his definition of “roaring back.”
Even as some businesses and schools now “open,” the reality is often Help Wanted signs and Zoom in a Room. For Newsom, malaise is the new normal; he sees this as the beginning, not the end, of a deepening cycle of government dependence and control.
Nothing could be further from the character of our state. I, for one, still believe in California and in its people. I believe our essential dynamism, independence, and daring are more than a match for Newsom’s cronyism, incompetence, and erring.
In fact, I believe that by year’s end Newsom will make history one more time. He’ll be ousted from office more quickly than any California Governor since the 1800s.
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