The mass capturing in Sacramento final weekend that took six lives occurred one block from the Capitol places of work of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Affiliation. The next morning, I speculated on social media that it was most likely gang members with legal data. It didn’t take a Kreskin to make that kind of prediction which, in fact, turned out to be correct.
Nor does it take extraordinary clairvoyance to foretell that progressives would, as soon as once more, blame “gun violence” somewhat than criminally inclined perpetrators. (I’ve typically questioned why, when there's a homicide dedicated with a knife, progressives by no means discuss “knife violence.”) True to kind, each Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sacramento’s mayor, Darrell Steinberg, instantly blamed “gun violence” and known as for extra gun management legal guidelines however the truth that California already has a few of the strictest gun management legal guidelines in America and is at present contemplating extra.
The difficulty of gun management apart, the progressive reply to any considered one of California’s many issues is to advance “options” which are ineffective at finest and counterproductive at worst. Right here, their reply to civil unrest, elevated crime and perceived extreme incarceration is to “defund” the police and grant early launch to violent felons. Even when, as final week’s carnage reveals, these insurance policies don’t work, the response is steadily doubling down with extra of the identical.
The failure to carry criminals accountable for their habits is only one instance, however there are numerous extra. Housing disaster? An actual answer can be to take away impediments to housing development. However this runs opposite to the DNA of California’s progressive city planners who strictly management the sorts of housing being constructed, how it's to be constructed and the place it's to be constructed. As well as, lease management legal guidelines and a brand new push to impose increased capital positive aspects taxes on home flippers sends a stark message to all potential homebuyers in addition to buyers that California isn't the place you need to lay down your cash.
Local weather change? Fairly than transition to wash, carbon-neutral nuclear energy, California has already closed two of its energy crops and is on the verge of closing the final one. And why don’t progressives rely carbon-free hydroelectric energy as a renewable power supply? In all probability as a result of that makes an excessive amount of sense.
One other instance is transportation, the place progressive insurance policies designed to pressure commuters out of their vehicles have resulted in much more gridlock and extra air pollution. Mass transit is extra unpopular than ever due to reliability and private security considerations whereas lane closures and so-called “site visitors calming” designs go away drivers indignant and utilizing language you don’t hear in church. And for goodness’ sake, don’t get me began on high-speed rail — the most expensive, environmentally damaging transportation mission ever designed by people.
Homelessness is subsequent on the listing. How is it that progressives proceed to spend ever growing quantities of cash on this tragedy solely to see the issue getting worse? Has it ever occurred to them that each one their “options” are exacerbating the issue? Are they unfamiliar with the favored definition of madness?
That is only a brief listing of the very critical issues confronting California to which you may add a horrific enterprise local weather, crushing tax burden, huge waste in state authorities, water shortages, and the nation’s highest unemployment fee and highest efficient poverty fee.
What California desperately wants are critical candidates to advance actual options to critical issues and lots much less superficial posturing.
Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Affiliation.