California is poised to overtake Germany as the world’s fourth-largest economy. It will help Gov. Gavin Newsom prepare for his presidential run in 2024, but it won’t do much to help the everyday Californians struggling to get by while Newsom’s ultrawealthy base prospers.
Newsom issued a statement boasting about the news, claiming that “while critics often say California’s best days are behind us, reality proves otherwise.” Newsom said the state would be “doubling down on renewables and clean energy” and that he feels “tremendous pride in California’s resilience, leadership, and our formula for success.”
GAVIN NEWSOM SLAMMED BY EXPERTS AFTER SHIFTING BLAME FOR CALIFORNIA’S RECORD GAS PRICES
Of course, part of the reason California is passing Germany is that country’s commitment to the very energy policies California is now embracing. Germany’s gross domestic product is projected to shrink in 2023 due to rising energy prices after the country’s commitment to renewable energy left it reliant on Russian natural gas. California is undoubtedly headed down the same road, with the current grid unable to support the state’s energy demands, a problem that is going to become worse in the coming years.
But Newsom’s boasting is even more tone deaf than simply ignoring Germany’s fate. Newsom boasts of the state’s “best days” and of “success” because of California’s GDP, but that number means nothing for the millions languishing in poverty or being pushed out of the state due to the cost of living.
California has the highest poverty rate of any state when adjusted for the cost of living, with 15.4% of residents living under the poverty line. The homeless population has exploded from 22,500 to 173,800 in the last three years, thanks in part to a “precipitous drop” in earnings for Californians during the pandemic.
But yes, the state’s GDP kept going up during that time, so Newsom doesn’t have to care about the people who get left behind.
Middle-class Californians are being priced out of the “California dream” that Newsom praises. The state has the second-lowest homeownership rate in the country, and residents have been fleeing for greener pastures in Texas, Florida, and Idaho, among other states.
But again, look at that GDP!
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Democrats have become the party of the rich, a label they scornfully assigned to the GOP for years. Everyday Californians are struggling more so than residents of any other state, with high prices, a high cost of living, and an unsustainable housing crisis. But big businesses are doing great, as are Newsom’s lobbyist pals and celebrity boosters. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters to California Democrats.
