Melissa Melendez: Californians vote with their feet, head out of the state

The United Census Bureau recently confirmed a trend most Californians already suspected: the loss of residents that began with the COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped and, in fact, is worsening. The bureau confirms that, between July 2021 and July 2002, 113,649 people left California, bringing the total number of residents fleeing the state since 2020 to just over a half a million people, a phenomenon not seen in over a century.

Did COVID hasten the departure of some? Sure, there were plenty of Californians who said “I want my freedoms back.” But that is not the whole story, not by a long shot. Californians of different economic classes, ethnicities and backgrounds are choosing to escape an increasingly expensive, unsafe and difficult state.

What are the reasons compelling people to leave this beautiful and naturally blessed place?

Given the top states to which many Californians relocate, it’s clear that our exorbitant cost of living is a top factor. Take, for instance, the state’s outlandishly expensive housing, to both own and rent.

My think tank, the Golden State Policy Council, recently featured an analysis that illustrates how excessive environmental regulations and litigation cause housing costs to skyrocket. Consider, for example, the regulations mandating solar energy panels for new single-family homes, which of course add to the cost of a home, and the new plan being floated before the California Public Utilities Commission to levy a fee for electricity based on your income. Instead of reforming laws like the California Environmental Quality Act under which housing developments are constantly challenged in court and lead to delays in building, legislators and the bureaucrats they appoint continue to impose more regulations.

Energy prices are another factor driving the state’s cost of living and motivating Californians to relocate. According to AAA, during the second week of May, the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in Texas — a major recipient state of California refugees — was $1.77 lower than in California. California levies a 53-cent-per-gallon excise tax, in addition to expensive mandates for so-called “clean air” fuel blends. Now the Legislature is considering a mileage tax, projected to cost the average Californian an average of $600-$800 a year, which is nothing short of a tax on the poor and on residents who commute long distances.

Per The Tax Foundation, Californians already have the second-highest tax burden among the states, alongside New Jersey and New York in the top three. Residents are leaving those states in droves, too. If Democrats are looking to hustle people out of the state, they’re doing a fine job so far.

Public safety also weighs heavily on former Californians as they witnessed an onslaught of crime over the last decade due to a suite of so-called public safety “reforms.” Meanwhile, radical district attorneys stubbornly refuse to prosecute certain so-called “non-violent” crimes and pursue light sentences for repeat offenders, returning criminals to the streets in a tragic cycle.

The effect on quality of life for law-abiding Californians cannot be understated as shoplifters and thieves working with organized crime target businesses, large and small alike. The burden on small businesses is immense. They cannot afford to hire private security and do not have a lot of extra cash lying around to cover the cost of organized and repeated theft. Large businesses are not immune from this trend either as high end retailers like Whole Foods and Nordstrom announced the closing of their San Francisco stores, citing crime and safety concerns that were keeping customers away. Walgreens has also shuttered stores in that city due to constant shoplifting. Left behind are poor and elderly residents with limited mobility who now have increased challenges shopping for essentials.

Now, as if the departure of 500,000 people isn’t a big enough signal that things are not going well, the Legislature is considering an “exit tax” to keep Californians from escaping the death grip of onerous taxes when they move to more tax-friendly states like Florida and Texas.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and his party should consider what conditions exist in these other sates that have led to so many Californians to choosing them as their new home, and create those conditions here. In other words, give the people what they very clearly want.

Melissa Melendez is president of the Golden State Policy Council. She previously served in the California Senate and Assembly.