During an interview with California Insider, Victor Davis Hanson was asked where California was headed. Without hesitation, he said, it is “headed to oblivion.” He explained that people are leaving California to go to hell-hot Texas or desert Nevada, that have become paradises in their minds. We took paradise and turned it into hell, so they’re leaving.
He said it was hard to destroy California given its huge amounts of timber minerals, oil, natural gas, and its four of the top-rated universities in the world. “It’s hard to destroy that inheritance, but we did,” he said.
Quantifying It
“How do you quantify that? You can use almost any measurement you want to use. Fuel, we have the highest gasoline prices in the United States, partly because we don’t develop our own oil or natural gas, partly because we have blended fuels that give marginally cleaner air but they’re very expensive, partly because we have the highest gasoline taxes … in the United States, partly because our regulations are such, refiners don’t want to improve and expand.
“If you look at homeless people, we have almost half of the nation’s homeless people… we have 1/3 of the nation’s welfare recipients, 27% of the state residents were not born in the United States so that poses an enormous challenge of integration and assimilation. We didn’t do that very well.
“Our school test scores are around 45, rated out of 50. We used to be in the top 10. If you look at taxes, we have the highest income tax. I think the governor is now going to sign a tax bill on top incomes, the highest gasoline tax, and our sales tax, given the local and county add-ons, is among the highest.
“… San Francisco has the highest per capita property crime rate in the United States. Los Angeles is now one of the most violent cities statistically. If you look at housing per square foot, these homes that you see out the window one between 1000 and $1500 per square foot, about eight or nine times the national average.
“If you look at the price of electricity … it’s not reliable and … the grid is ossified, so if you live in the foothills or dry areas with October-November winds, the power lines snap, and then you get these raging forest fires in the Sierra Nevada or up in the northern part of the state or even the Los Angeles hills…
The Lost Infrastructure
There used to be “a consensus that if you’re going to grow, you have to have infrastructure. So you built dams and aqueducts. And at one time, I know this sounds crazy, but the 99 freeway was not the most lethal per mile driven freeway in the United States.” It was “one of the most modern, so was the 101, so was LAX …. They’ve just, they just calcified. They were not developed commiserate with population increase …
There is much more on the clip.
This is what the Progressives want for all of us. It is what they are doing in every city and now suburban and rural areas.
Whites make up 37% of the population in California. Back when Reagan was governor of California, the country was around 84% white so I’m guessing California was close to that. Immigrants tend to vote Democrat no matter where they hailed from originally. The Silicon Valley took root in California and unfortunately, the hive mentality there is worse than the entertainment industry. California changed because the demographics changed.
How can there be “homeless” in California when they are tearing down perfectly good housing in Detroit? Or selling them for one dollar.
The Great Irony- high housing prices means people are still paying them to live in California. While everything else he reports is true too?
Who are still paying for the high-priced housing in this state? How can we attract even more and turn California red again?
California reminds me of South Africa and it’s impending death. SA losing it’s First World status at the hands of unfettered Third World immigration, crime, corruption and really bad politics. California once rich will die slowly under analogous circumstances and the rest of the country may have to fight or follow.
Anon is accurate EXCEPT that 3rd World immigration is not part of SA’s problem. I lived there. Before “independence”, it was a reasonably well-functioning country, given the limits extant in all sub-Saharan Africa countries. But once the ANC gained power, it became a long steady march of corruption and vengeance, with no regard for consequences. Law of the jungle – the tribe in power gets the spoils and screw everyone else. Saw almost the same thing when I lived in Zimbabwe, soon after it was no longer Southern Rhodesia. At least the white Rhodies were not being murdered with the same ferocity and velocity as are the Afrikaners. These events are anti-white racism to the extreme, which means mainstream media will give it little or no attention.
Do birds flock to an empty feeder? You can attract anything with food. And without it, they go away.
VDH has nothing to offer that we do not already know.
He is like all the establishment RINOs. His act does not work on me. He is not America First.
Dumbest comment so far today.
Your comment lacked content. You must be a Mitch fan club member.
Cite for us a single solution to any problem which this fake genius VDH ever suggested.
Elect Trump. That worked very well for the country.
The question was where is California headed. VDH answered the question. It is unfortunate that there is soooooooo much wrong with California that it sounds like overstatement.
If you have year round temperate weather, like the West Coastal area (western coast, not the inner desert areas), you do NOT need to attract more homeless with stupid NGOs and Dem programs. Not. In fact, do everything else to discourage that, and set up free homeless camps in areas *without* nice year round weather. Then you’ll know who’s really mentally ill or addicted before they are homeless (before, not after they find an alt. lifestyle).
And yet VDH continues to live in the “Oblivion State.” The interviewer should have asked him why.
Ya, so…
When the going gets tough Californians do not run away from the fight like a bunch of wimpy illegal aliens running from the fight in their own countries. Did you run away like a wimpy illegal alien?
VDH will never be involved in a fight, he like to preach from his pulpit, to tell us things we knew years ago.
I greatly doubt the week kneed VDH ever stuck his neck out for anything, such as a true conservative candidate who would take positive steps. VDH is all about his sagacious act.
So, lets all vote for Newsom then and let him turn whats left of the country into the same dump he now governs…. good idea stupid democrats.
That’s why Texas and other states are turning blue. Progressives don’t leave their voting habits behind in CA, Oregon, Washington, PA and NY. They bring Progressivism right along with them to their new home voting booth. Not all but many have not learned they caused it in their old home.
They’ll ruin more states with their out of touch ideas that don’t work in reality.
A Conservative Californian is considered a rabid commie in Conservative parts of the country. There should be a twenty year quarantine with no voting allowed for moving Californians.
I lived in Laguna Beach when I joined the service in 1966. That would be back when poor people could live there. Lived on third street. My mom worked downtown at the drug store. Years later around (2020) a house was built on a cliff that I’m familiar with over looking the beach. 1200 square feet for one million dollars per 100 sq feet. Breaking it down to what Zig Zigler would call the ridiculous. $10,000 per one square “foot” not feet.
NOBODY did anything about it. Just stood by and watched Demoncraps rape California clean. So don’t cry for me, Argentina….
B-bye, California!
Hanson what’s this WE
FOOL
ONE PEOPLE have not had the ability to VOTE our way out of this Mess
Stolen by DONKEY
SOLD OUT BY RINOS
SINCE NIXION
BOTH BANDITS ARE NOW OWNED BY
THE DRAGON
Thanks for nothing your opinions are chit on a dull turd .not one idea what to do
MY FELLOW AMERICANS
aka
ONE PEOPLE sooner than later now
this EVIL will in our faces
PULL THE PLUG
AKA
THE LIGHTS GO OUT AND
THE PARTY WILL COME A LOOKING FOR EASY PICKINGS
The SOUL-loutions is
PSALM 91
who the hell needs earthquakes when you have Newsom
And yet, they insist everything is hunky-dory – the Biden economy’s booming, illegal immigration isn’t a problem, there’s jobs for everyone, etc, etc. ad nauseum. Libturds are terminally deluded – by choice.
Purge bolshevik Marxist filth from Earth.
Glad leftists got the clot shot.