California had an impressive 16-decade run as the future of America, the frontier, the cutting edge. That’s over.
Democrats will blame President Trump’s tax bill capping the state and local tax deduction, a deduction that disproportionately benefits wealthy blue staters, at $10,000. Republicans will blame the state government sponsoring health insurance for illegal immigrants while heroin needles, the homeless, and Hepatitis A clutter up the once-beautiful streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco. But there’s no question that Californians are checking out for good, and it’s costing the Golden State a congressional seat.
California’s population grew by a tiny 50,000 in the past year, equal to one-tenth of 1%. That’s the state’s lowest rate of population growth since 1900. Because the number of seats in the House of Representatives is legally capped at 435, reapportionment benefits the faster-growing states at the expense of the slower-growing ones, even if that growth is still slightly positive. So California, the blue behemoth of the House, will lose one of its 53 seats. But per the Census Bureau’s latest report, it won’t be the only one.
New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania look to be losing one of their 27, 18, and 18 seats, respectively, thanks to lagging population growth. The latter two states actually shrank in population size, with Illinois losing the equivalent of the entire population of Joliet in the past decade.
Swing states such as Florida, Arizona, and Colorado are gaining one seat. Only Texas will gain two, bringing its representation to a whopping 38 seats.
It’s not only large states benefiting. Idaho, which has balked at a recent uptick in Californian carpetbaggers fleeing to the state, will gain a seat in the House, as will both Montana and North Carolina.
California was the future once. It’s something else these days.
