OPINION
Published 3 hours ago
Jim Breslo: Problem-plagued California needs new management
By Jim Breslo
The location of the state could not be better. Ocean, beaches, mountains, desert, and beautiful weather. But its great location has masked major mismanagement. While it is the most expensive state in the country as far as taxes, the quality of its services ranks among the bottom.
It has the worst ranking for homelessness, 8th worst for roads, and worst for teacher-to-student ratio. Its prisons are so crowded that the Supreme Court determined them to constitute cruel and unusual punishment, and it suffered the worst budget crisis of all the states during the Great Recession.
But residents are so mesmerized by the amazing weather and beauty of the place that they tend to overlook the quality of the services. And as a result, management does not change. The state has been under the same Democratic Party management for years. Their monopoly on power is so safe that they now hold supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature despite California’s worsening condition. Management has no incentive to change when it keeps getting re-elected.
Californians may not be voting out Democrats at the ballot box, but they have been voting with their feet. While California’s population has grown from 29 million to 39 million over the past 30 years, in each year during that period the state has seen a net loss in migration to other states. It seems those disgruntled with the state’s management are choosing to find another state.
California’s population growth is due almost entirely to the increase in its Latino population. Twenty-seven percent of the state’s residents were not born in this country, the highest percentage of any state and over double the national average. Latinos now make up 40 percent of the state’s population, outnumbering whites. Among Latinos who identify with a party, 73 percent are Democrats.
Is it any wonder Gov. Gavin Newsom has sued the federal government to stop President Trump’s efforts to reduce illegal immigration at the border?
If there is ever to be a change in the state’s management, it appears it will have to be directed by the state’s Latino population. A recent Pew poll indicates that there is some hope in this regard. It showed that as Latinos become better educated and assimilated into the state, their support for Democrats declines.
According to the poll, 82 percent of those with less than a high school education identify as Democrats or lean Democratic, compared with 58 percent with a high school degree. And 61 percent of immigrants said Democrats have more concern for Latinos, compared with 52 percent for Latinos born in the U.S. We can only hope that trend continues.
Jim Breslo is an attorney, host of the Hidden Truth Show and founder of RealKast, a new media company. He was formerly a partner at the international law firm Seyfarth Shaw, defending companies and individuals against alleged civil rights violations.
Published 3 hours ago
Jim Breslo: Problem-plagued California needs new management
By Jim Breslo
The location of the state could not be better. Ocean, beaches, mountains, desert, and beautiful weather. But its great location has masked major mismanagement. While it is the most expensive state in the country as far as taxes, the quality of its services ranks among the bottom.
It has the worst ranking for homelessness, 8th worst for roads, and worst for teacher-to-student ratio. Its prisons are so crowded that the Supreme Court determined them to constitute cruel and unusual punishment, and it suffered the worst budget crisis of all the states during the Great Recession.
But residents are so mesmerized by the amazing weather and beauty of the place that they tend to overlook the quality of the services. And as a result, management does not change. The state has been under the same Democratic Party management for years. Their monopoly on power is so safe that they now hold supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature despite California’s worsening condition. Management has no incentive to change when it keeps getting re-elected.
Californians may not be voting out Democrats at the ballot box, but they have been voting with their feet. While California’s population has grown from 29 million to 39 million over the past 30 years, in each year during that period the state has seen a net loss in migration to other states. It seems those disgruntled with the state’s management are choosing to find another state.
California’s population growth is due almost entirely to the increase in its Latino population. Twenty-seven percent of the state’s residents were not born in this country, the highest percentage of any state and over double the national average. Latinos now make up 40 percent of the state’s population, outnumbering whites. Among Latinos who identify with a party, 73 percent are Democrats.
Is it any wonder Gov. Gavin Newsom has sued the federal government to stop President Trump’s efforts to reduce illegal immigration at the border?
If there is ever to be a change in the state’s management, it appears it will have to be directed by the state’s Latino population. A recent Pew poll indicates that there is some hope in this regard. It showed that as Latinos become better educated and assimilated into the state, their support for Democrats declines.
According to the poll, 82 percent of those with less than a high school education identify as Democrats or lean Democratic, compared with 58 percent with a high school degree. And 61 percent of immigrants said Democrats have more concern for Latinos, compared with 52 percent for Latinos born in the U.S. We can only hope that trend continues.
Jim Breslo is an attorney, host of the Hidden Truth Show and founder of RealKast, a new media company. He was formerly a partner at the international law firm Seyfarth Shaw, defending companies and individuals against alleged civil rights violations.
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