Steve Hilton Warns of ‘Dangerous Complacency’ in California
‘Cal Chamber going along with Becerra is learned helplessness, utter cowardice, given that California has the worst business climate’
By Katy Grimes, June 18, 2026 6:29 pm
Investment is not coming to our state warned Steve Hilton Thursday at a press conference at the Capitol. “If we don’t change the direction, we are headed for economic disaster in California,” he added, noting that many business owners and entrepreneurs tell him this explicitly and regularly.
“There is a dangerous complacency in this town especially and among the people who are in charge of our state about our economy in California,” Hilton said as me motioned to the State Capitol behind him.
“Taxes, regulations, endless harassment with every business with Newsom’s lawsuits…” Hilton said. “The people who represent is in this building actually represent their donors.”
Chief Executive Magazine reports annually on the Best and Worst States for Business. Predictably, in their Best and Worst of 2025, California is ranked number #50.
I’ve covered the Chief Executive Magazine annual report on the Best and Worst States for Business since 2014. Even in 2014, Chief Executive reported “California, New York and Illinois continue to rank among the worst three states in 2014, with virtually no change from previous years.”
“The exodus of businesses will become a stampede if Xavier Becerra is elected,” Hilton warned. “He’s fully behind the climate extreme – he’s a creature of the corrupt system here in California. He will give them more reasons to leave.”
“California is already at the top of the ‘don’t want to go there’ list. You would think that the business community would stand up and fight. Instead we see the business lobby in California caving,” Hilton added.
What is he talking about? Last week the Cal Chamber announced they were endorsing Xavier Becerra in the November general election for governor. Immediately I pictured the Cal Chamber board of directors cowering under their conference room table.
“Cal Chamber going along with Becerra is learned helplessness, given that California has the worst business climate,” Hilton said. He must have a similar imagination to mine. “How they say they want more of that – utter quizzlings.”
“It’s a display of utter cowardice on behalf of the Cal Chamber.”
This has been a serious problem with the business lobbying associations in California, going back two decades when AB 32 was passed and signed into law. Someone tell them that they don’t really have a seat at the table any more. Cowardice, indeed. With nothing to lose, they should be calling press conferences to expose everything Democrats are doing.
During his presser, Hilton said Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrat lawmakers love to point out that California has “the world’s fourth-largest economy.” Yet California’s government has grown exponentially, while the private sector is fleeing the state.
Hilton said we may be a large state, but “California today suffers the highest poverty rate, the highest unemployment rate and the highest cost of living in America. California families and businesses pay the highest gasoline and electricity prices in the continental U.S., nearly double the national average. Last year U.S. News & World Report ranked California 50th out of 50 states for opportunity.”
Hilton addressed Fareed Zakaria’s blistering indictment of California’s government, and described the state as “one of the most dynamic places on the planet” — with Silicon Valley, Hollywood, top universities, agriculture, ports, talent, and natural beauty — but called it “a case study in how a rich society can spend more and more while producing less and less of what its ordinary citizens need.” The core paradox: “a successful economy attached to a failing model of governance.”
Zakaria, who works for the Washington Post and CNN, took many by surprise.
California is one of the most dynamic places on the planet.
But it is a case study in how a rich society can spend more and more while producing less and less of what its ordinary citizens need.
My take: pic.twitter.com/a8LGEhWCdd
— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) June 14, 2026
Zakaria said since 2000, California’s population grew minimally, but general fund expenditures rose over 200%. Per-person spending jumped from roughly $2,300 to $6,300. Zakaria asked: “Does anyone think that California government and its benefits have gotten 200% better in the last 25 years?”
Nope.
Yet when Xavier Becerra sat down with Elex Michaelson of CNN for an interview, he said he’d change nothing in California.
Fox11 reported:
“Michaelson also asked repeatedly what specific policy changes he would make and he didn’t give a specific answer, but talked more about his process for governing and repeatedly talked about the concept of ‘scrubbing’ problems.”
“When Michaelson asked what he’d do differently than Gov. Newsom, he didn’t mention a clear policy distinction.
“‘We’re going to move, we’re not going to wait, we’re going to build and we’re going to execute,’ he said.”
Hilton hit on California’s high taxes, and that the Legislature is currently passing more taxes. And he addressed that even with the ever-increasing high spending, state government fails to deliver core services like housing, education, and public safety.
The diminishing quality of life for taxpaying California citizens, is in contrast to the tech industry, largely propping the state’s tax revenues up, but serves to mask the state’s horrific governmental dysfunction.
“We can no longer assume that great weather and natural beauty will keep business in California,” Hilton said. “Many CEOs and founders have told me that if we don’t change direction this year, they are heading out.”
A California native and Navy mom, Katy lives in Sacramento, CA.
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I am really sorry to see the Chamber of Commerce prostitute themselves. Maybe disappointed is a better word for their timid acceptance of California’s lousy business environment rather than breaking out and saying, “Enough is enough!”
Feeding California voter complacency has always been the goal of the ruling party. I think we have seen enough of the wide spread political nepotism, collusion and corruption to be numbed into acquiescence. By lowering voter turn out and dampening our resolve, it clears the decks for the ballot manufacturing and delivery machinations!
AND that observation is fortified by the thought, “Does it really matter?” when the will of the people is cast aside and bad legislation is temporarily overturned only to be undermined by follow-up legislation. Not a vote, but the stroke of the pen by underhanded politicos, kissing the ring of our current monarch.
We saw the enthusiastic campaign of Spencer Pratt and it forced the democrat’s counterfeit ballot machine into overdrive. The results were ludicrous. Hilton needs to learn from this and step up his game. He sounds like a reasonable fellow but there’s no fire in his belly. In order to put California back into the Golden State it once was, we need a governor with conviction otherwise we get another spineless democrat taking orders from the cabal behind the curtain (Soros, PG&E, the CTA and those others awaiting their pay-to-play opportunities).
I mean look how thoroughly inept the out-going governor is. He was groomed to be a politician by monied ‘above the law’ people from day one. He can’t think on his own. He doesn’t know issues or solutions, only the scripts of those behind the curtain; their agenda, their narrative.
Rather than a governor who just regurgitates party platitudes and blames others for his own malfeasance, we deserve better. California deserves better. It might not be pretty but we need an actual businessman that can reshape and reduce the felonious bureaucracy our complacency has allowed.
You made a compelling case for Sheriff Chad Bianco, who we voted for…
We will vote for Hilton in the Fall and move if Becerra is selected….
200% better of illegals
“Last week the Cal Chamber announced they were endorsing Xavier Becerra in the November general election for governor.”
California Chamber of Commerce is an absolute joke in this state. No logical business person could possibly support a Democrat after what the Democrats have done to businesses and working people in this state.
California Post reported that Jennifer Barrera of the California Chamber of Commerce said California needs “collaboration, not conflict” and that’s the reason that they’re supporting Xavier Becerra. That’s laughable considering Xavier Becerra’s divisive history spanning four decades as a career Democrat political hack?
CalMatters reported that Chevron, McDonald’s, California Resources Corp. and others have contributed $500,000 to a pro-Becerra spending committee. Meta and AirBnB kicked in $1 million each and Centene, which runs California-based HealthNet, gave $100,000 to help Becerra. It’s sickening to see these globalist corporations line up to install a corporate stooge like Xavier Becerra? Now we know which corporations to boycott?
Why would Xavier Becerra want to change anything in California when he’s living like pampered royalty being a member of the criminal Democrat thug mafia? No one in their right mind wants him as governor?
Barrera ~ Becerra
Viva La Reconquista???
So Chevron, the company that is constantly complaining about the governor appointed California Air Resources Board, contributed to Becerra’s campaign? Isn’t this the same Chevron that after 146 years in California, at moved their headquarters last year to Texas, because the California Democrats created such a toxic business climate?
I have come to believe that the average working person has more intelligence, and just plain common sense, than these so-called college educated corporate elites. How do you go through years of college, and end up coming out so stupid? Tell me, because college did not have that effect on me.
Great points TJ.
And this is exactly right ——— “NO ONE in their right mind wants XAVIER BECERRA as Governor.”
God help us.
Javier Bockhorrhea…
California ranks in the bottom half to lower tier of U.S. states in K-12 academic performance. According to the Nation’s Report Card (NAEP), California ranks 38th in math and 33rd in reading among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Becerra has been endorsed by the California teachers union. Not a snowball’s chance Becerra will act on this with anymore urgency than Newsom has.
Becerra will do whatever the CTA tells him to do. He’s just going to be Newsom II. Here’s the worst part. If he gets elected, we will eight years of this piece of garbage.
Thanks to Tulsi Gabbards data dump on Fauci and the Covid19 lab leak coverup, Bacerra will be implicated in the coverup as he was HHS secretary. Hilton should focus on this too.