Scam Nation
By BARBARA SIMPSON
To measure by the headlines and the predictions of economists, this country is on the verge of a depression. Not just a mild recession as we have seen over the last ten years or so, but a real life, down-deep recession. If they are right, it is going to hurt and is going to affect all sectors of the economy. And it will be painful for everyone, no matter how much money they have.
Prices are going up and that will continue for all kinds of consumer products, but the headlines now focus on the price of gasoline. It is raging out of control as anyone who drives a vehicle knows. No matter what the politicians tell us, the price is not going to go down and they don’t seem to have any solution.
California is going out of its mind and is on the verge of demanding that the oil companies reveal their profits, as though that will solve the problem. What it would do, if it comes to pass, is give Gov. Gavin Newsom and the legislature a scapegoat. But it won’t solve the problem.
As I write this, the national average hit a record high of $4.103 a gallon while in California, averages vary across the state. In San Francisco, it was $5.82 a gallon but a bit farther north, $5.99. In Southern California, the prices varied widely, with the high in some places, especially Los Angeles, close to $7.00 a gallon.
I heard on the news, as I write this, that gasoline in Tulsa, Okla., is $3.80 a gallon. Read it and weep!
While the blame for our high gasoline prices is being laid at the doorstep of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia, there is the reality for California that we pay the highest prices because of high state gas taxes and environmental regulations. At this point, it totals 51.1 cents per gallon. These taxes are supposed to relieve the damage from climate change and repairs to roads and bridges. That really hasn’t happened.
If you’re thinking that more oil would relieve some of the pressure on gasoline prices, forget that. Politicians think, less is better. Despite the fact that California has enormous oil reserves and thousands of wells, on and off-shore, the state is demanding a cutback on production and rules to stop new drilling — and of course, no fracking!
The governor hints at some kind of rebate for “some” drivers, but there are no details on how that would work. Keep in mind, this is happening at a time when the state has an estimated surplus of $31 billion, money already taken from taxpayers for which there is no purpose at this point. They have to find ways to spend it!
Along with all the issues about gas prices, the governor has also issued an executive order that all gas-powered vehicles will be outlawed for sale in the state by 2035. So much for a free market. In other words, he wants to force Californians to drive electric vehicles, even though at this point we do not produce enough electricity to handle the load that would mandate, and there are no plans as to how that would be remedied.
I saw a recent estimate that some 2 million cars and trucks are sold in California every year so you can see that these changes in the state regulations will have a huge impact on the national economy.
That’s California for you. The land of milk and honey and the politicians keep their hand on your wallets.
I remember when California was regarded as the land of milk and honey. The land of freedom and space. It was big and beautiful and open, and life was good and reasonable.
When I was in high school on the East Coast, virtually every junior and senior said they wanted to go to California after graduation! A good many did. We didn’t have any particular reason other than we believed that it would be the answer to our prayers and needs.
And besides, it had great beaches!
Much later, when I moved here, it was possible for a single person or a young couple to rent an apartment at a reasonable price and get a job that would pay the rent without breaking the bank.
And yes, the beaches were great!
But California wasn’t always that way. My parents, who grew up in the thirties Depression, needed jobs and income. They decided to try California and drove from the East Coast to the state. It was a huge move for them, but they hoped it would work.
When they got here, they got the bad news. They literally were stopped at the border and were not allowed in the state because they did not already have a job.
Do not even cross the border. In other words: Stay out!
And so they did, finally settling for a while in New Mexico and then back East and home.
That’s a part of California history that people aren’t told.
Today, people are kept out by the sheer cost of living — the price of rents, and food and gasoline and health care and everything else.
The thousands of people living in tents on the streets in cities and towns across the state are proof of the out-of-control cost of living and the fact that for so many, it is simply impossible to survive.
What’s interesting is that California doesn’t like to admit that we have “homeless” people — despite the fact that we have thousands living in “tent cities” along freeways, under bridges, on the beaches, and every other place they can settle.
No. In California they are not “homeless.” We have to be politically correct.
For us, they are the “unhoused.”
And have no doubt, politicians are looking for ways to “give” housing to many of them — citizens and illegals alike. How and where still will be worked out. One aspect of this is certain, however, the good, taxpaying citizens will foot the bill for whatever plan the pols come up with. That’s a sure thing.
That’s California.