Thanksgiving for California’s Paradise Lost

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Guidance for Private Gatherings” limits the number of participants at Thanksgiving celebrations and even warns Californians to keep their voices down. That should not be a problem because, as this Independent Institute video shows, Californians have little to shout about these days. 

For example, Californians often find their electricity shut down because so-called “green energy” is unreliable. For their part, politicians persist with green-energy evangelism because it makes them feel good about themselves, even when it lands Californians in the dark. 

As the video also says, deadly wildfires consume the state because of failed government policies. When President Trump pointed out the need for better forest management, Gov. Newsom blamed “climate change” for the fires. The governor’s natural resources secretary, Wade Crowfoot, told the president: “If we ignore that science and sort of put our head in the sand and think it’s all about vegetation management, we’re not going to succeed together protecting Californians.”

As the video also notes, “Immoral lawmakers use tax dollars to pay for their sexual misconduct settlements,” a fine incentive for real misconduct and false accusations alike. As Lawrence McQuillan reveals, California has paid “millions of dollars to settle misconduct claims against state legislators, legislative staff and other public and university employees,” and “misconduct will continue as long as wrongdoers can shift costs onto taxpayers and escape full accountability.”

“Sadly,” the video laments, “California is a paradise lost, but not hopelessly.” Viewers can find analysis of the problems exposed in the video, along with sound policy solutions, at Independent Institute’s California Golden Fleece® Awards page. As C. S. Lewis might put it, these solutions have not been tried and found wanting; immoral, cowardly politicians have simply left them untried. That dynamic needs to change, and Californians might be more thankful if Golden State politicians stopped imposing the nation’s highest income and sales taxes. 

Meanwhile, per the governor’s guidelines, at all Thanksgiving celebrations remember to wear a mask between bites and practice social distancing. Also remember to have the host take the names of all attendees, in case contact tracing is needed. Like Major Strasser in Casablanca, Gov. Newsom wants “the names.”

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.