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The Great Migration Out of California...?

Updated: Apr 29, 2021


Lights, camera, action! That phrase has been one of many to be synonymous with the state California. Others would be beach, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, fame, celebrities, Golden State, and more recently, expensive. California has represented so many things and has become an important piece of America. People dream of making it big in LA, relax on the movie like beaches, or work for one of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley, but there has been an increasing amount of people who have come to grips with the California behind the golden veil. The veil that hides things such as the extraordinary homeless rate, increased cost of living, and high taxes.

Homelessness

As you guys know, people are getting a luxury just by living in Cali because of the beautiful types of scenery. To be able to go to the beach, see the Redwoods, and go snowboarding all in a weekend (if your really ambitious) is something that not many other states can't provide. But one thing that I have come to notice is that with all the high taxes California has, where does the money go? For a state that has some of the highest taxes in the country, I would assume our infrastructure would be far better. Instead we just have rising homeless numbers, poor infrastructure, and raging fires... In fact according to the United States Interagency on Homelessness, it states that "as of January 2019, California had an estimated 151,278 experiencing homelessness on any given day, as reported by Continuums of Care to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)". The website later gives a map of America and the amount of homeless people in each state, and California is by far the state with the largest number.

This data may be from 2 years ago, but even so the map shows the major gap in homelessness rates from California compared to other states. In any case, maybe the money is just being used for other areas right? Nope. In the 2019-2020 spending plan, the main focus was on debt repayment. I guess a state that taxes a lot spends a lot. Now I know that I am nowhere near qualified to make such statements, so I will let the evidence speak for itself. In the 2019-2020 spending plan published by the Legislative Analysts Office , California was planning to spend $1.9 billion of the $208.9 billion dedicated for state spending for housing and homelessness. This is supposed to support housing for homeless ($1 billion), grants to various cities for their own programs ($650 million), and funding for "planning grants to local governments and regional planning entities" ($250 million). The $1.9 represents 0.9% of the overall state spending. The demand for affordable housing has at a deficit of 1.4 million in 2019 (Homelessness Policy Research Institute) proving that the funds allocated to affordable housing is nowhere near the amount that is in demand. The increased homelessness rate has lead to the tarnishing of California's image and is only one aspect of why Californian's are fleeing the state. For example, popular finance YouTuber Graham Stephan (with over 3 million subscribers between his three channels) said in his "Why I'm Leaving California" video that one of the main reasons he was leaving was due to the rise in homelessness near his LA house. He mentioned how it was becoming so bad that his girlfriend felt too unsafe to walk at night. Stephan also gave a comparison of a street near his house from 2016 and a Google street image of the same street in 2019. The 2016 street was clean whereas the same street a few years later was littered with trash and tents comprised of homeless people. Stephan later said that he was disappointed with the way Las Angeles has been handling the homeless situation, and LA isn't the only city to become riddled with homeless people. San Francisco has also become a juggernaut for homeless people as well. While there are many reasons for people to become homeless, California has proven that they are not equipped to handle such a demanding issue and can partly explain the rise in Californians leaving.


Taxes

But homelessness is just one part. The biggest reason is because of the ratio between salary and spending in California. According to a CNBC YouTube video titled "Why some tech companies and billionaires are leaving California", 53% of Californians surveyed said that they would consider moving out of California due to the cost. This has lead over 100k Californians to leave in 2020! I mean seriously, the high taxes is like throwing the money out the window.


I believe the high taxes can be a hindrance on the happiness of Californians too. Having to give away a larger amount of your salary AND pay more to do LITERALLY anything means that your money doesn't take you as far.


What Now?

With the high taxes and increased homelessness rate, some may think that California has lost its glamour. While this may be partially true, I believe that California still holds a powerful position in America. From Silicon Valley to Hollywood, California has continued to be the epitome of luxury and I believe that California could continue to be. California continues to be the first to make bold change (such as requiring the halting of gas fueled cars by 2025) and over time I think if California is able to find solutions for the fires, then it will become an enjoyable state again. Being worried about terrible air quality from fires or being worried about your house being burned down by a fire are not helping with California's "Golden State" image. The increased fire numbers coupled with high taxes have been the breaking point for the average American. What California does in respond to the increased number of people leaving will be critical for the future of the state. If California can find a way to appeal to average people like it used to, then it can once again be the The Golden State!


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