While Governor Newsom may be highlighting a list of so-called accomplishments for the state this year, don’t be fooled about the state’s deteriorating condition. Facing a record number of crises, read Senate Republicans’ list of how California led the nation in failures this year under the Democrat supermajority:
1. Homelessness. California leads the nation in the number of homeless people, despite the Democrat supermajority spending nearly $22 billion in the last six years to address the homelessness crisis.
2. Opportunity. California leads the nation as the worst state in which to pursue opportunity.
3. Affordability. California leads the nation as the most unaffordable state to live in this year. Californians continue to flee the state, and one of the most-cited factors pushing them away is the lack of affordability.
4. Public Safety. California leads the nation with a soaring crime rate that is 24% higher than the national average. According to the PPIC, “California’s Violent Crime Rate is Diverging from the National Trend,” due largely to a 25% increase in aggravated assaults from 2019 to 2022.
5. Businesses. California leads the nation in businesses fleeing the state, which is evident in the San Francisco Examiner article, “California business exodus continues in 2023; since 2005, majority relocate to Texas.”
6. Jobs. California leads the nation in its unemployment rate, ranking 49th highest. In November, California’s unemployment ticked up from 4.7% to 4.9%, while Texas remained steady at 4.1%, and Florida remained at an extremely low 2.9%.
7. Taxes. California leads the nation with the highest state-local income tax rates. According to the Tax Foundation, the Golden State has the highest gas taxes and is home to one of the worst business tax climates in the country.
8. Road Performance. California leads the nation in having the worst roads despite Democrat leadership’s implementation of a $5 billion annual tax sold to voters as necessary to fix the state’s roads, highways and bridges.
9. Budgeting. California leads the nation with a $68 billion budget shortfall despite having a record-setting $100 billion budget surplus just two years ago.
10. Unemployment Debt. California leads the nation in unemployment debt owed to the federal government. California owes $20 billion in unemployment debt, but instead of paying it off with pandemic funds, as most other states did, Democrat leadership chose to foist repayment onto employers across the state.
This is not even an exhaustive list of the many ways California, under the leadership of the Democrat supermajority, leads the nation in failures. Unfortunately, thanks to one-party rule here, the realities everyday Californians face are worse than those their counterparts face in other states.