Thursday, June 29, 2023

California Approaches "Failed State" Status

Governor Newsollini is a hypocritical failure.  Twice during his draconian 'rona lockdowns he appeared in large settings without a mask.  He travels to states to which he's banned state travel--they're good enough for him but not for the government?  He whines about the Supreme Court's anti-affirmative action ruling while governing a deep-left state that has twice voted against affirmative action in recent years.

And it's not like California presents a shining example of good governance.

Recall the state's "travel ban" and his flouting of it:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday appeared to flout his own state’s laws by speaking at an event in Texas, one of 22 states for which California has banned official government travel...

California has banned state-funded travel to states with "discriminatory laws." The state first passed the law in 2017 in reaction to North Carolina preventing transgender people from using restrooms that aligned with their own identity. In the ensuing years, the list of banned states ballooned from four to nearly two dozen.

One of those states on California’s naughty list is Montana, where Newsom vacationed earlier this summer to visit his in-laws. Newsom’s team said he did not violate the law as he was traveling in his personal capacity – despite having a security detail.

Not everyone in California pretends to believe that those two dozen states have nothing to teach us here in California:

San Jose’s homelessness response team visited Houston earlier this year. City and county representatives from the Los Angeles area went last fall...

In April, two city council members from the East Bay city of Richmond headed to Austin to tour a 51-acre tiny home community that provides permanent housing for 350-and-counting homeless residents. Elected officials from Sacramento trekked to San Antonio to see a 1,600-person shelter that offers everything from dental care to counseling – serving nearly the city’s entire homeless population in one place...

[T]he California Legislature and some Golden State cities don’t even allow publicly funded travel to Texas. Some Californians who have made the trip have had to seek exemptions by arguing the travel is in their jurisdiction’s best interest...

Why are these cities sending people to Texas? 

In Texas, 81 people are homeless for every 100,000 residents. In California, the rate is more than five times worse...

“While Austin built 350 small homes, we are putting 1,200 across the state, including 500 in Los Angeles,” she said in an emailed statement sent on behalf of Newsom’s office. “California continues to make unprecedented investments into housing and homelessness which includes shelter and wrap-around supportive services, cleaning up encampments, and creating more housing. The state has invested more to increase housing supply than ever before in our history while holding local governments accountable.”

But the difference in outcomes in Texas versus California is unmistakable. The Houston area’s homeless population dropped 57% between 2012 and last year, dipping to 3,124, according to the federally mandated point-in-time count. A New York Times article published last year highlighted the “remarkable progress,” catapulting the city that was already known in wonky homeless policy circles into the national limelight – and catching California’s attention. 

Los Angeles County’s homeless population increased 106% over the same period. Sacramento County’s jumped a whopping 230%.

We deserve the government we vote for.  Good job, California.

Those of you who vote for these people--what part of California government do you think is well-run?  What programs would you publicly support?

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