California is about to overwhelmingly elect and sustain for decades to come one-party rule. There’s more money going to the Democratic Party and Republicans don’t seem to have any hope making a dent in LA County outside of Steve Fazio and Mike Antonovich possibly winning Senate seats. But there are a number of public policy questions to be raised, as to why these factors are happening.
Here are a number of questions for voters who only want one-party rule, and aren’t considering other options either out of views on social stances (abortion, gay marriage, transgender bathroom options), belief in higher taxes on the rich – with no qualifying indicator ever given to determine what rich is – and a progressive stance on society.
Why do California voters believe higher taxes mean better public services, higher quality schools for all schoolchildren, and an overall higher quality of life? California has the highest taxes (income, gas and sales) in the nation per capita and generally has the worst roads, no idea how to pay for hundreds of billions, even trillions worth of infrastructure improvements, and a pension system that is insolvent by any nominally accepted accounting standards.
California also has some of the lowest test scores in the nation while having exploding taxes for education. Please explain to me why Californians continue one-party rule based on these above facts?
Why does the electorate continue to let California be two separate societies consisting of the coastal rich and the Los Angeles west side while the rest of California meek out existences among high-tax coastal elites who never have to worry about their decisions affecting the remainder of California?
Meanwhile, California’s middle class residents are being driven out of the state and we now overwhelmingly have the highest poverty rates and welfare recipients in the nation. Do voters consider the millions of Californians that fall into these categories when voting for one-party rule? On top of that about one quarter of California residents weren’t born in the US. This isn’t some Trumpian diatribe, but real questions have to be asked on how to educate, feed, employ and house them?
Does climate change and/or global warming do away with building what once was the greatest transportation system in the world? California formerly had highways, dams, canals, bridge, airports, and other infrastructure that wasn’t as important as saving endangered fish and making sure Tesla had generous tax credits for cars that very few could ever afford. Why has this been allowed to happen especially since electric vehicles, as an example, have more questionsthan answers to overtaking the combustible engine?
Finally, what about housing? Why do voters continue one-party rule that stopssingle-family houses from being built? If it’s to stop global warming, climate change or believe that high-rise density accomplishes that goal, McKinsey and Company has debunked this California theory imposed through regulatory fiat by California planning agencies. As Joel Kotkin notes there are other ways to accomplish climate reduction “working at home keeping vehicles off the road, dispersed employment from urban centers and tougher fuel standards.”
Most people want to live in single-family homes. It is now being proven that Millennials entering their 30s want single-family homes in neighborhoods over dense, traffic-clogged, noise-tsunami ridden urban centers. Then why do Californians continue to put up with one-party rule – and Millennials who overwhelmingly vote for only one-party – not rise up and vote for another party?
Our society is rotting before our very eyes, yet we don’t consider a moderate Republican, sensible Independent, or business-friendly Democrat that doesn’t tow the California rhetoric about social, environmental, and tax issues. Declining people groups for history have always pulled the cover over their eyes, instead of sensibly addressing what rises the tide for all boats. California is witnessing post-modern, progressive policies to their fullest. Will we ever change our ways? We shall see what the future holds.