Joe Biden’s age and likely impeachment due to the allegations of bribery and corruption found in the FBI FD-1023 document could leave Democrats looking for an alternative in 2024. California’s youthful-looking Gov. Gavin Newsom could become a primary alternative.
He is articulate and able to deliver a positive message, unlike the incumbent whose fits of anger and rage have become legendary. However, Newsom’s record for governance in the nation’s most populous state leaves much to be desired and could become an issue in the event he replaces Biden as the Democratic nominee.
Gavin Newsom As President? He Did Damage in California
Newsom’s costly progressive policies come with a serious price tag. Red ink goes as far as the eye can see. Democrats want to borrow $26 billion despite the looming $31.5 billion deficit. That’s up $9 billion from the state’s January projection. The state has experienced a sharp decline in tax revenues.
He has rejected calls to increase taxes on businesses in an attempt to close the budgetary shortfall. California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) warns the economic projections are far from rosy and that could blow a bigger hole in the budget.
“There is a good possibility that rising interest rates and tightening credit soon will push the economy into a broader slowdown, leading to further revenue declines. It is also possible that today’s economy could prove more resilient than prior episodes—perhaps due to unprecedentedly high demand for workers,” LAO warns. “This uncertainty means revenues could end up considerably higher or lower than our estimates.”
California’s Department of Finance predicts that the state will experience operating deficits for the remainder of his term even without a spending increase.
Democrats Go Want Spending Binge
Newsom has to juggle requests from Democratic lawmakers on demands from affordable health care to housing. Democrats are proposing a $100 billion bond bill.
He is proposing a $4.68 billion bond to pay for 10,000 housing units to help veterans with severe mental illnesses. The governor hopes to funnel money into treatment centers for those with substance abuse problems and mental-health issues.
Newsom plans to earmark $1 billion in revenue from the state’s housing tax to pay for the proposal.
Democratic Assembly Housing Chairwoman Buffy Wicks suggests funneling a proposed $10 billion bond into California’s Multifamily Housing Program to build and renovate low-income housing.
State Sen. Anthony Portantino, is seeking a $25 billion mortgage to help low- and middle-income Californians afford to buy a home.
On climate, Democrats are suggesting a $15 billion to $16 billion bill targeting areas such as water supplies, clean energy, and flood prevention.
On education, they propose a $14 billion education bond for K-12 schools and a $15 bond for higher education.
“Newsom wants to be known as a governor who wrought universal medical care, educational services stretching from cradle to adulthood, an end to the state’s highest-in-the-nation level of homelessness, a revolution in mental health care, and measurable reduction in the nation’s highest rate of family poverty,” Cal Matters columnist Dan Walters writes. “Newsom has opposed both, which is the underlying reason the budget he signed in June has so many gimmicks. There’s also substantial support for issuing bonds to pay for programmatic expansions, and Newsom buys into that approach, at least partially.
How about setting aside dreams of remaking California into an American version of Sweden and keeping spending within available revenues? That’s the least popular option within the Capitol but it might be what real-world economics dictate.”
John Rossomando is a defense and counterterrorism analyst and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
From 19FortyFive
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