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Further to this week's newsletter and podcast I've invited Charles Meredith to elaborate on the impact of neo-liberalism specifically to California. - Editor |
California - Loss Leader of the Left - is Moving on
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks since Trump won the U.S. federal election. Hundreds of articles and millions of social media posts have circulated about the results, most of which seem exaggerated or baseless. I find the reactions from my Canadian friends particularly interesting, as it’s apparent that many don’t fully understand how the U.S. political system works. I'll explain.
I'm a dual citizen; I live in Southern California but spend about a quarter of my time in western Canada. California is the "tip of the spear" of the progressive Democratic Party and what Americans call the “woke agenda.” This environment shapes how I view U.S. federal election results.
Charles Meredith is an experienced consultant with significant experience in the private and public sectors. Charles’ key focus is strategic and business planning, business performance improvement and corporate turnarounds. He consulted for 25 years and has been engaged by over 250 organizations across Canada and the United States. His career highlight was the role of the project manager for the privatization of CN Rail in 1992. Charles relocated to southern California in 2007 to operate a series of small businesses, and is now retired, spending time on the golf course and the beach.
California pioneered “sanctuary cities” for illegal immigrants, along with hotel and food vouchers for both undocumented individuals and the homeless. This initiative has reached a point where many budget hotels are now fully occupied by undocumented immigrants and homeless individuals, funded by municipal and state taxpayers. Three progressive initiatives passed the State House of Representatives this year, which the governor vetoed due to the state's deep debt and because it was, in his view, an inopportune time given the federal election cycle. These initiatives included:
- Qualifying undocumented immigrants for unemployment insurance benefits.
- Offering undocumented immigrants a non-interest-bearing loan of up to $250,000 for a home down payment, repayable only upon resale.
- A proposal for slavery reparations for African Americans, potentially offering a 70-year-old resident over $1 million on a sliding scale. The reparations portion of this bill was vetoed, but the apology was signed into law.
California has also led green initiatives, which some view as progressive and others as wasteful. This includes efforts to restrict oil and gas production, resulting in the highest fuel and electricity prices in the continental U.S. Today, regular gas is $3 per gallon in Arizona and Nevada but $4 here, and about to increase ~$.60 per gallon due to now even tougher regulatory requirements. The state has mandated that only electric vehicles can be sold by 2035, and already clean air regulations will result in a virtual ban on motorhome sales in the state in 2025. California now has two gas taxes because the first was diverted to general revenue, and the roads went neglected until a second was added. Heavily subsidized yet still very costly green energy, coupled with high electricity taxes, has made power very costly. For example, a Tesla Model 3, originally priced at $37,000, now costs $22,000 in California after federal and state subsidies, so there are many on the roads here.
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Crime and public safety are huge issues in California. Harris’s Bill 47, passed a few years ago when she was the California AG, reclassified thefts under $950 as misdemeanors. The intent was to reduce incarceration and lower costs, but it has inadvertently encouraged theft. Store managers are now frequently helpless as people walk out with cartloads of merchandise under the $950 threshold. Many stores have resorted to locking up common items, and others have abandoned high-crime areas. The state also moved to no-cash bail, releasing habitual offenders shortly after arrest, further contributing to the public safety concerns.
Abortion rights and DEI measures (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) are significant in California. State and local government hiring follows strict DEI guidelines, and university admissions, despite the Supreme Court striking down affirmative action quotas, still prioritize DEI. This what is effectively a reverse racism measure has resulted in white students facing steep competition for admissions, and white candidates facing steep competition for government and NGO jobs. The tension between DEI and meritocracy has become an ongoing debate.
Aside from the sanctuary city and DEI initiatives, California has been at the forefront of culture wars across the board. State and local governments, along with educational institutions, have been early adopters of pronouns, supporters of men competing in women's sports, mandating gender neutral restrooms and feminine products in men's restrooms, supporting government funded gender surgery for migrants and convicts, supporting Queers for Palestine rallies et al that many Americans deem preposterous.
Educational results in California are an ongoing generational disaster. The current controversies revolve around the focus on gender rights, Critical Race Theory teachings and funding fight between public, charter and private schools in a state with one of the highest expenditures per student in the US. The latest state test scores show that California grade school students have slightly improved for the first time in years, and test out at 47% in English Arts, 35% in Math and 30% in science at grade levels, a massive failure by any measure. The current focus seems to revolve around everything but the actual point of grade school education.
California is unfortunately the US leader in homelessness with the latest count being about 185,000 people, by far the most of any state in the US. The moderate climate and being both a port and border state certainly contribute to this, along with the significant benefits the state provides homeless individuals. The state has spent $24 billion combating homelessness since 2019 while the numbers of homeless people have only increased, and the state auditor determined that there is a minimal audit trail of where the money was spent. The implication was that most of that this money was wasted by NGOs that accomplished little and stands as a testament to state and local government gross mismanagement of taxpayer money and their complicity propagating a massive human tragedy.
Lastly, the Governor is now asking Californians and the Federal Government (all US taxpayers), to further subsidize Hollywood! Film production has cratered in California because production costs have risen dramatically, and it is far cheaper to produce content virtually anywhere else in the US and globally. The state currently provides a $480 million incentive annually for California production, and the proposal is to increase that subsidy to $750 million and the Governor is now asking Federal taxpayers to match that to keep production going in Hollywood.
All of this is sustained by California taxpayers, with a current state budget of ~$300 billion and a projected deficit of $47 billion. Even Canada, under Trudeau, is more fiscally prudent by comparison, with a budget of $535 billion and a $40 billion deficit. California’s radical progressive agenda is supported by the financial powerhouse that Silicon Valley has become over the past two decades.
With this as a backdrop, I voted and watched the results roll in, with Trump winning every battleground state and Republicans winning many down-ticket races. Even in California, mayors and district attorneys in San Francisco and Oakland were replaced, and the new San Francisco mayor has already declared a state of emergency on homelessness and drug use. LA's progressive DA and others in smaller cities were also ousted. Bill 47 has now been replaced with a law that criminalizes theft again on the third offense, a move the state government had opposed, but which passed with overwhelming support as people grew tired of unchecked crime.
Why did America choose Trump over Harris, and the Republican agenda over the Democratic one?
The right believes Americans perceived the economy as struggling, open border policies as dangerous, and the woke and DEI agenda as divisive. Inflation has hit the U.S., although not as severely as in Canada. The "Inflation Reduction Act," which was supposed to combat inflation, but many saw the reality of now more money chasing the same goods and services doing quite the opposite. The majority of the money was allocated to decarbonize America which many saw as simply handouts to big business. A major expense is to build a network of EV charging stations which seems dubious given EVs haven't performed or sold well in northern climates. Aside from the decarbonization initiatives, another major expense in this Act was to expand internet access to rural areas which seemed unnecessary given newer technologies like Starlink. People saw this massive federal spending act drive increased inflation without any perceived real benefit to them.
Harris, as the “Border Czar,” distanced herself from the border crisis, but video evidence contradicted her stance. Many Americans were troubled by the perception that undocumented individuals received better treatment than citizens, including benefits like food, clothing, housing, and even phones. The fentanyl crisis, closely tied to border issues, heightened these concerns.
The right blames the left for the erosion of public safety, viewing policies like no-cash bail and $950 theft limits as serious issues. The crime statistics were debated, but public perception remained strong.
Foreign wars also troubled many voters. While Americans didn’t want Russia to gain power, they saw the cost of funding Ukraine’s defense as burdensome, with no clear end in sight. The Middle East was similarly problematic, with U.S. taxpayers funding Israel’s defense. Harris's attempts to balance both sides in foreign policy failed, whereas Trump’s support for Israel resonated with voters.
The “woke” and DEI agendas angered people, particularly issues like pronouns et al which while in reality have little impact in American's day to day lives, became symbolic of the culture wars that many people found offensive. Stories of reverse discrimination further fueled resentment. Ironically, Harris was seen as the original “DEI hire,” with Biden promising a female VP of colour.
The left had many criticisms, summarized well by a meme from a friend:
"America died today
Hope died today
Freedom died today
Ethics died today
Morality died today
Love died today
Cause of death: ignorance, racism, hate, and greed.
Prepare for the biggest 'I told you so' in history."
Ultimately, people may not like Trump’s rhetoric, but they seemed to prefer his vision: economic growth driven by lower taxes and less regulation, industry repatriation, secure borders, tougher criminal justice policies, an end to the “Green Grift,” a rejection of the woke and DEI agenda across the board, and a reduction in foreign military commitments.
Harris was an obviously weak candidate, running a poor campaign. As part of the Biden administration, she inherited its baggage, offering no real policy changes, especially ignoring the economic issues most Americans are facing, and only emphasizing that she wasn’t Trump. Her only notable campaign message was fear-based, warning against Trump’s supposed fascism and threatening a national abortion ban. Her running mate, Tim Walz, was poorly received, while Trump’s running mate Vance performed well.
America has elected Obama twice, making it hard to argue racism influenced Harris’s loss. The country also rejected Hillary Clinton, suggesting that misogyny alone isn’t the issue. Both Clinton and Harris were flawed candidates with heavy baggage.
Harris’s fear campaign didn’t resonate. Political campaigns that focus on attacking opponents without proposing a positive vision rarely succeed, and this was no exception. America chose Trump’s divisive rhetoric over more of the same from Harris.
Both sides claimed they would accomplish much as President, though in reality, a President's powers are limited by Congress and the Senate. On abortion, the Supreme Court has ruled it a state issue, so federal promises to legislate on it are misleading. The same applies to every other issue.
My view is that the meme my left-leaning friend shared captures why Harris and the left lost. It implies that anyone who didn’t vote for Harris is ignorant, racist, sexist, unethical, immoral, hateful, and greedy—a one-sided view that dismisses differing opinions on economic policy, fairness, prosperity, and immigration. The public has spoken, and they’re ready to move on from the push for progressive social justice as it’s been framed.
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