Why California Needs America First Policies 

Is California in a death spiral? The fact that 818,000 Californians fled to states like Texas and Florida between 2021-2022 suggests the answer is yes. The California chapter of the America First Policy Institute is focusing on the areas in which California’s leaders have failed and which, according to our surveys, are foremost on Californians’ minds. These include the economy, energy, public safety, homelessness, and education. Our mission is simple: put Californians first.

The state’s economy is a priority across all demographics. Some 93% of respondents to our poll conducted earlier this year cite the state’s economic climate and general affordability as important to their future votes.

At the same time, energy is constantly on Californians’ minds, given the excessive prices at the gas pump and the ongoing threat of blackouts. Renewable energy mandates mean the state’s electricity grid is increasingly dependent on unreliable solar power and wind, a fact that became all too apparent during the summer 2022 heat wave when the state warned residents to reduce consumption or face blackouts. And let’s not forget that Californians pay over $2 per gallon more for gas than the national average. Make no mistake: These problems are imposed through the state’s excessive taxes, regulations, and unrealistic environmental mandates.

Public safety is also a concern. During the course of 2022, 68% of Californians were aware of a violent crime or serious property crime close to their homes. These numbers coincide with the rise in crime generally for more than a decade since the state’s ill-fated “prison realignment,” which essentially released thousands of hardened convicts onto our streets, and Proposition 47 (2014), which effectively decriminalized dozens of crimes.

The state’s homeless crisis continues to concern Californians. In 2020, the California State Senate estimated that 28% of the Nation’s homeless population resides in California, despite the state only composing 12% of the Nation’s population. Residents are taking note, with large percentages of respondents across the political spectrum calling the issue “important.”

Finally, education issues weigh heavily on Californians. Many children are still reeling from lengthy and unnecessary COVID-19 school closures and the delayed learning and mental health complications that came along with it. The number of California students failing to meet literacy and math standards increased across all grade levels between the 2018–19 and 2020–21 school years.

Despite how concerning these issues may seem, the answers are clear for anyone willing to set aside the status quo. California’s leaders need to consider policies that have proven successful in other states and nationally.

Policymakers should start by enacting energy policies that rely on proven, time-tested, and reliable sources. Doing so would help create a stable electricity grid while reducing gas taxes and regulations on refineries to lower pump prices. They could also ensure greater public safety by restoring automatic sentences for property and other so-called “non-violent” crimes. Drug addiction is a key factor for homelessness. Policymakers could restore penalties on drug dealers and equip police to enforce public order laws. To solve education issues, they could enact policies that give children and parents better options by allowing funds to follow students to the school of their choice. These solutions come from the core principles that guide our organization, which make us uniquely equipped to tackle these challenging issues.

California First means prioritizing the well-being of California’s students and parents over agendas that promote sexual indoctrination. It means ensuring safe neighborhoods and protecting vulnerable Californians rather than giving in to those who thrive on chaos. California First means focusing on the recovery of homeless individuals struggling with addiction rather than relying on ineffective bureaucratic solutions. It means safeguarding Californians’ quality of life and financial security by ensuring affordable and reliable electricity instead of imposing unworkable environmental mandates. Finally, it means fostering a competitive and business-friendly economic environment rather than supporting a bloated public sector that constantly demands more tax dollars.

The California chapter of the America First Policy Institute is a non-partisan organization dedicated to partnering with lawmakers and organizations that promote policies to improve the lives of Californians. California’s decline was not inevitable, and neither is its impending death spiral. What’s required are practical laws and the determination to break free from the death grip of influence that special interest groups have on our government and the politicians who obey them.

California deserves better.