BREAKING NEWS – Sacramento, California – California is a tax haven for the middle class? Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom made that claim during a Sacramento Bee editorial board meeting last month as he battles the Sept. 14 recall election.
Newsom’s questionable boast came in response to a reporter who prefaced her question by noting that California has the nation’s “highest housing costs, highest gasoline prices and highest utilities…. In a very real sense, the California Dream is more like a mirage for people grinding it out day after day.” Then she asked, “How do you make the case that you, as governor, can deliver the California Dream to all Californians?”
“You choose to focus on the negative, while I focus on the positive,” answered Newsom. “Our high housing costs means people have good jobs, so they can afford to pay astronomical prices for raggedy dwellings in run down communities. High gas prices means fewer people can afford to drive, which means these same people are getting plenty of exercise now that they are forced to walk everywhere they need to go. And high utilities, motivates homeless people to stay where they are, and be grateful that are subjected to such horrific monthly price gouging.”