LOS ANGELES.–When 53-year-old SpaceX, Tesla Motors and X [Twitter] mega-billionaire Elon Musk announced July 16 that he would be leaving California for Texas, it was a slap in the face to 56-year-old Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom had his hopes high that he was a rising star in the Democrat Party, once considered a front-runner for his party’s nomination if 81-year-old President Joe Biden decides to retire. But since revelations about California’s $70 billion budget deficit hit the headlines, Newsom has been dogged by the state’s fiscal mismanagement. Higher in inflation and unemployment than any other state, California has oversized problems not addressed successfully by Newsom, including the state’s growing homeless problem turning the nation’s most prestigious cities into intolerable living spaces. Musk’s decision to pull out is the final insult to Newsom.
Newsom has shown he’s all-show-and-no-go when it comes to managing the state, once the envy of the United States. California still has its costal geography but it’s unaffordable for most young families, especially in its major cities, largely due to excessive government regulations and progressive politics that place ideology over practical living matters. California has the highest energy prices in the country, punishing consumers with exorbitant gas taxes translating into the nation’s highest pump prices. Newsom thought championing the Green New Deal, pushing for electric cars around the state to show his commitment to climate change, would put him into the vanguard of progressive politicians. With three years left in office, Newsom watches his political fortunes dwindle as the state slowly deteriorates into the least livable state in the union.
Newsom was irked by Musk’s decision to pull SpaceX out of Hawthorne, Calif., a working class community just east of Los Angeles International Airport employing 13,000 jobs. With the tax base shrinking and budget deficits rising, Musk’s decision was blow to Newsom’s future. Musk decided to relocate to his Starbase manufacturing site near Brownsville, Texas, also moving X [Twitter] from San Francisco to Austin. Musk explained that Newsom signing a new childhood gender law, allowing school children gender change without parental consent, was the final blow that drove him out of California. “You bent the knee,” Newsom posted on X with a 2022 screen shot of 78-year-old President Donald Trump slamming Musk. Instead of working with business leaders to promote the state, but, more importantly to make it habitable for its citizens, Newsom plays silly games.
Musk said that banning school districts from notifying parents about their children’s gender issues was the “last straw” in how Newsom uses state politics not in improve the business climate or lives of its citizens but to grandstand with progressive politics. Newsom prefers to use his time on useless publicity stunts, wasting his time debating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Dec. 1, 2023 before the Republican primaries got in full swing. Newsom hoped going on Fox News “Sean Hannity Show” to get maximum publicity, running a kind of shadow campaign against President Joe Biden. But Newsom was slapped down by the White House and pivoted to serve as one of Biden’s lead campaign surrogates. In his debate with DeSantis, Newsom showed off an overly aggressive style of rattling of facts-and-figures, largely nonsense, defending the state loss of population under his watch.
California and Texas, because on their lengthy borders, have the biggest illegal immigrations problems in the U.S. Newsom hopes that illegal immigration from the southern border somehow compensates a net loss of population, just like the recent announcement by Musk that he was pulling 13,000 more good paying jobs out of the state. Losing SpaceX and Twitter to Texas was huge blow to Newsom, who can only play sour grapes, knowing that his priorities, and that of the state legislature, aren’t compatible with many family-oriented U.S. businesses. “Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attack both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas,” Musk wrote on X. Musk said he informed Newsom if he went ahead with progressive gender law, he would move SpaceX and X out of California.
Newsom has mushrooming problems in the Golden State now that he run out of pandemic cash and must rely on revenue from income and other taxes. With most state taxes already stretching consumers to the breaking point, there’s nowhere to generate more state income other than improving the business and living environment, both already plagued by high taxes, unaffordable housing and a growing homeless population in California cities. Newsom is no longer talked about if Biden decides to bow out of the 2024 race with the torch likely passed to 58-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris. Newsom can only talk sour grapes watching one of California’s premier businesses pull out of the state. Newsom has revealed that for all to see that he’s more of an empty fashion plate, not the once rising star in the Democrat Party, only a lame duck California governor.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
