The devastating California wildfires have been made even worse due to the priorities of the near-total rule of Sacramento’s progressive politicians. The harm they have done to what was once called “The Golden State” is not unique. It is widespread throughout the cities, towns, and states of the nation, and indeed, to the federal government as well.
Progressives dangerously fail to address actual problems and needs. They ignore rational and worthy goals that should be pursued. Instead, they are devoted to virtue-signaling “green” policies that do little for the environment, but ravage the economy. They encourage racial and gender division, and bear responsibility for massive crime problems. Progressive ineptitude in foreign policy has led to a world in chaos.
The New York Post notes that “President-elect Trump, during his first administration, put Gov. Gavin Newsom on notice for his handling of repeated wildfires in the state, years ahead of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires currently raging…’The Governor of California… has done a terrible job of forest management. I told him from the first day we met that he must ‘clean’ his forest floors regardless of what his bosses, the environmentalists, DEMAND of him. Must also do burns and cut fire stoppers,” the former and upcoming president posted to X in 2019.’”
Californians pay some of the highest taxes in the nation, (yet face a $73 billion budget gap) yet Sacramentq fails to adequately fund needed infrastructure and public safety programs. One study reports that “The California State Water Resources Control Board recently released an assessment showing that nearly one million Golden State residents lack access to safe and reliable water. Further, the five-year price tag to address the state’s massive infrastructure needs could top $16 billion.”
So where does a big chunk of the money go? The House Budget Committee reports that “Benefits and services provided to illegal aliens in California in 2022 amounted to $22,821,903,942.”
Progressive environmentalists prioritize leftist goals over real needs and genuine environmental problems. The Manhattan Institute reports that, in fact, self-described environmentalists are less interested in climate goals than in replacing capitalism with socialism. The irony of that belief can be seen explicitly in comparing very similar areas, such as the old East Germany with West Germany. A 1984 Christian Science Monitor article reported that “A UN report …identified East Germany as the most polluted country in Europe. …the German Economic Institute in West Berlin calculates that East German sulfur dioxide emissions have reached at least 46 tons annually per square kilometer, or triple West German levels.” A similar comparison can be found between North and South Korea.
A similar result occurs in Progressive views on racism.
A Hoover Institution study notes that “…at least some of the politicians who are promising to address racism are the same ones who are responsible for the reasons so many Californians—particularly Blacks—struggle economically, decade after decade. These politicians must know by now that their policies, which reduce economic opportunities, increase living costs, and perpetuate a failed K–12 education system, have imposed substantial and disproportionate harm on Blacks, Hispanics, and women. But they continue doubling down on this failed agenda by passing new laws and imposing new regulations that make Black lives—and the lives of many more Californians—much worse off.”
The impact of progressive foreign policy has been a significant encouragement of war and threats by China, Russia and Iran. When Beijing assaulted the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone, then-president Barack Obama failed to provide even a diplomatic protest, despite the eventual ruling in favor of Manila by the World Court. As Russia threatened to invade Ukraine, President Biden signaled weakness. Both Obama and Biden demonstrated weakness in the actions by both Iran and ISIS in the Middle East. Today, encouraged by that, China is ramping up its bullying in the Indo-Pacific region, Ukraine is devastated, ISIS is regaining power, and Iran is weeks or months away from becoming a nuclear power.
The impact of Progressive prosecutors on crime is another example of failure. As noted by the Heritage Institute “Their policies encourage lawlessness, harm law-abiding residents (especially minorities), drive businesses out of cities, and demoralize the police by treating them like criminals.”
Despite the absolute failure of Progressive policies at home and abroad, biased reporting by pro-leftist media outlets have worked to dampen criticism.
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