A Paradise Lost
On September 28, 1542, Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and his crew entered San Diego Bay, becoming the first Europeans to visit California. As they gazed at their new surroundings, what they saw must have been stunning. Breathtaking natural beauty and sapphire blue ocean water as far as the eye could see. They had discovered a magical place.
From the Gold Rush era to the rise of Hollywood to the Silicone Valley tech boom of the 1990’s, California has been a promised land. Where redemption was found and dreams came true. A place full of possibilities and limitless imagination.
But the California dream is rapidly dying. Although it is the world’s fifth largest economy, everyday Californians are seeing their quality of life decline. Many worry what the future holds for their children, as the American ideals of home ownership and a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle seem increasingly out of reach.
For all of the discussion about California’s problems, there is precious little discussion of why these problems exist. Until citizens understand where these problems came from and what is driving them, it is impossible to begin to solve them.
During my research, I discovered that California’s issues have a wide array of origins and mitigating factors. Some recent and some decades old. California is plagued by corruption and extreme lack of accountability in government, but some issues are simply the result of unintended consequences of good intentions gone awry.
An example to demonstrate how public policy can lead to seemingly unrelated, unintended consequences concerns the stay at home orders from March 2020. During the first few months of the stay at home orders, with many businesses and schools closed, it wasn’t a surprise that traffic collisions fell.
But what shocked government officials was that traffic fatalities skyrocketed to levels not seen in fifteen years.1 The lockdowns led to much emptier streets which led to an increase in speeding and reckless driving. In the first few weeks of the lockdown orders, speeding citations issued by the California Highway Patrol for going an excess of 100 mph rose 87%.2
Although it makes sense in hindsight, nobody expected this consequence. Most people would have assumed, with so many staying home, traffic fatalities would drop as collisions did.
This “domino effect” can make it difficult to identify areas of public policy that need to be reformed or are no longer beneficial.
I examine the issues facing Californians from a historical, political, sociological and data perspective. It is important to understand not just the results of public policy, but also the original intention and motivation behind it. Is it achieving what it was intended to do? And if not, then why?
Topics will include crime, education, wildfires, the homeless crisis, campaign financing and the economy, among many other issues. Readers are also free to suggest topics they would like to learn more about.
The coronavirus pandemic revealed for the first time to many the deep ideological divide between “red” Republican and “blue” Democrat states. People who spent time in both areas have reported feeling like “they were seeing two different Americas.”
It also demonstrated that lesser known, local politicians hold much greater influence over daily life than the drama heavy battles being waged by both political parties in our federal government. But the latter makes for better entertainment on social media. More Californians could tell you about the politics of Texas Senator Ted Cruz than name the members of their local school board. Yet, that school board is in charge of the education of the community’s children, and could make decisions that have a lifelong impact on students.
Although there are “red” areas of California, the Democratic Party has firm control of the entire state government and the densely populated metro areas. California is undisputedly a deep blue state.
Yet, many California Democrats feel increasingly dissatisfied. Although they are still ideologically opposed to the Republican Party, they feel the Democratic Party no longer represents their concerns. Phrases such as “politically homeless” and “how the left lost me” are becoming increasingly common.
My intention for this newsletter is to rise above partisan bickering and serve as a source of information and discussion for anyone interested in California politics and how we got here.
Because knowledge truly is power.
Kika, Thomas, Traffic Deaths Worst in 15 Years as Unsafe Driving Spikes After Lockdown, Newsweek, October 29, 2021
Ross, Jamie, California Drivers Are Speeding Like Crazy During Coronavirus Lockdown, Daily Beast, April 23, 2020