California’s Woke Policies of Destruction

A commentary published in The Telegraph detailed how California’s woke policies are continuously destroying the state.

Joel Kotkin, the author of the commentary, noted that part of California’s failure rests in its increasing unemployment rate.

According to a report from Courthouse News Service, California’s unemployment rose to 5.1% by the end of 2023.

In December 2023, 983,000 Californians were unemployed, up 192,700 people from December 2022.

Kotkin explained that the state’s middle class “pay among the country’s highest taxes,” resulting in many residents fleeing the state for financial freedom.

The observation follows California losing over 75,000 residents in 2023 alone.

“A shrinking middle class and a growing exodus of upper class taxpayers – who pay much of the state’s taxes – has now brought about the inevitable fiscal reckoning in the form of a record $68 billion deficit,” Kotkin wrote.

California’s record deficit comes as the state allows transgender surgeries for illegal immigrants under its healthcare program.

According to a memo from 2022, Medi-Cal includes hormone therapy and a “variety of surgical procedures that bring primary and secondary gender characteristics into conformity with the individual’s identified gender, including ancillary services, such as hair removal, incident to those services.”

“Gender-affirming care is a covered Medi-Cal benefit when medically necessary,” the memo adds. “Requests for gender-affirming care should be from specialists experienced in providing culturally competent care to transgender and gender diverse individuals and should use nationally recognized guidelines.”

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond criticized the move on X, calling it “unfathomable.”

“Against numerous challenges in California with a staggering homeless population, the highest gas prices in the country, exorbitant utility costs, crumbling infrastructure, while facing a $68 billion budget deficit, the decision for free health insurance to undocumented immigrants paid for with taxpayer dollars is unfathomable.”

The state also suggested providing reparations payments to black residents.

In May 2023, California’s reparations task force proposed lifelong black residents of the state receive up to $1.2 million.

For health-related harms, eligible individuals would receive $13,619 per year of residency in the state, with descendants also qualifying for the payments, while victims of alleged over-policing between 1971 and 2020 would be entitled to $2,352 per year of residency during that period, with a maximum amount of $115,260.

Earlier this month, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco blasted Newsom after a court blocked the governor’s latest gun control push.

The measure Newsom was trying to pass would have banned concealed carry in many public places and if passed Bianco said would be “really unacceptable” to law-abiding residents.

“The fact about everything we’re doing taking away the gun rights and ownership and that aspect of the whole thing, where you can carry and where you can’t, it flies in the face of what they do with criminals,” Bianco said.

“They have a very pro-criminal stance in California, and they have for years, all of the laws. Newsom’s goal is to close as many prisons as he can, to not prosecute and to not sentence anyone to state prison,” he continued.

“They blame law enforcement. They blame society. So, there’s never a personal responsibility on someone’s criminal behavior. It’s always someone else’s fault. And there is this agenda that is extremely pro-criminal in Sacramento,” Bianco continued.

As long as California continues pushing its woke policies, as Kotkin described, “there’s little chance of a political turnaround, or a meaningful restoration of the California dream.”