Gavin Newsom’s latest attempt to celebrate big business blew up in his face when he was attacked by angry Californians for ignoring the realities of life in the Golden State.
The Democratic governor turned to
“Huge,” it declares, “and something you certainly won’t hear on Fox News tonight.”
The backlash was certainly enormous, as hundreds of Californians tore apart his record on crime, drugs, housing, the budget deficit and the rest of the state’s economy.
‘Cool, the rich are getting really rich and the middle class is getting poor!’ wrote J.D. Sharp. ‘Welcome to sunny, socialist California!!’
California Governor Gavin Newsom faced a furious response to his tweet celebrating his state’s success in attracting big business
The embattled governor was keen to trumpet a Fortune Magazine story suggesting that 57 of America’s largest companies now call the state home, overtaking Texas and New York and putting California at the top of the list for the first time in a decade.
‘More than Texel. More than Florida. 57 incredible and thriving companies, right here in the Golden State,” he boasted.
But many were keen to point out that people have gone the other way, with 340,000 more leaving than arriving in 2022.
Los Angeles has 340,000 fewer residents than in 2019, while San Francisco, San Diego and Santa Clara counties are each short about 40,000 people.
Florida, meanwhile, gained nearly 250,000, while Texas had 174,261.
California’s population is down 1.2 percent from 2019 and won’t reach pre-pandemic numbers until around 2032, according to current trends.
“Expect most of their employees to be virtual or based in other states,” Mericamemed tweeted.
“Funny how many people voted with their feet and fled your state!” Added MacAttack001.
Others suggested that rampant home price inflation is contributing to the state’s homelessness epidemic.
Some pointed out that while some big companies are moving in, people are moving out
Homelessness rose 6 percent last year to more than 180,000 people in the Golden State
Since 2013, the numbers have exploded by 53 percent, with the state responsible for a third of America’s entire homeless population.
Some addressed the governor’s policy priorities, others were more succinct
Homelessness rose 6 percent last year to more than 180,000 people in California, federal data show. And since 2013, the numbers have exploded by 53 percent, with the state accounting for a third of America’s entire homeless population.
“California is also home to the most homeless people, the most illegal immigrants, the most needles and human feces on the streets!” wrote DPL.3.
“Not to mention the most expensive place to live and the most expensive taxes!”
California spent $24 billion to tackle homelessness in the five years to 2023, but failed to track whether the money helped the state’s growing number of unhoused people, a damning report showed last month.
It has contributed to California’s budget deficit of at least $45 billion, prompting Newsom to propose painful cuts that will impact immigrants, preschoolers and low-income parents seeking child care in a state often praised for its fourth largest economy in the world.
“How much of that $45 billion deficit went to these companies as tax breaks?” MacAttack asked. “Oh, did you find that $24 billion you lost?
The reception of the governor’s pointed tweet was not helped by its timing, one day after it was reported that Fortune 500 CEOs enjoyed an average raise of 12.6 percent last year, surpassing the 4.1 percent for workers in the US. dwarfs the private sector.
“It’s nice that you’re focusing on big companies instead of the little people,” wrote Randal Nichol.
“It’s the little people who are moving to Texas and Florida.”
“I’d rather you brag about the smallest companies being successful, not about enriching billionaires,” Angie G added.
California’s burgeoning drug scene has not escaped the attention of its detractors, nor has its criminal justice record, which has seen violent crime rise 27 percent and pickpocketing more than double between 2013 and 2022.
“Dude, people can’t even walk around during the day in San Francisco without getting robbed,” Danigen wrote. ‘People can’t drive without being jacked up. The homeless are dying in the streets, criminals are running rampant in your state.”
“California leads the nation in many areas: homelessness; undocumented immigrants; budget deficits; income tax rates; fuel prices; poor quality of infrastructure,” Charles May added.
“Hey, but we’re having mostly nice weather and scenery.”
The governor found himself thoroughly ‘rationed’ in the first four hours with more than 2,000 overwhelmingly hostile responses to his tweet
And some pointed out that even his success story wasn’t all it was cracked up to be
But even the governor’s success story, according to some, was not what he claimed.
“For context, Texas has 55. California has 57,” community_notes wrote. “California also has about 25 percent more residents than Texas: 30 million versus 39 million.
‘In terms of population this should be 68. And Texas and Florida have also made gains.
“Gavin doesn’t say anything about that.”