California Shuts Down Freelance Journalism

Consequences already begin to unfold regarding the previously discussed war on freelance employment in the authoritarian dystopia of California. Thanks to Assembly Bill 5, as of January 1 it will be illegal for freelancers to write more than 35 articles for an outlet in the course of a year. This must be because writing 36 articles would be a threat to public safety; otherwise, the moonbats lording it over California would have no grounds for applying this garrote to the neck of freelance journalism.

The bill was signed by the odious Gavin Newsom and written by San Diego assemblymoonbat Lorena Gonzalez. What could motivate such ostensibly senseless malice? Hardball liberal politics, of course.

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Gonzalez, who previously worked as a labor organizer […barks] that freelancers can be used to break newsroom unions like the ones formed last year at The Los Angeles Times and this year at The Ringer.

The more people work for unions, the more lose part of their income through union dues into the voracious maw of the Democrat Party. Therefore, nonunion employment must be abolished.

Why is it precisely 35 articles — nowhere near enough to make a living — that are permitted? Shrugs Gonzalez,

“Was it a little arbitrary? Yeah. Writing bills with numbers like that are a little bit arbitrary.”

Preventing tyrants like Gonzalez from passing arbitrary laws that deny us the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is the whole point of the USA.

Theoretically, AB 5 will compel publishers and newsrooms to hire the freelancers as full-time employers. Neither labor experts nor freelancers expect this to happen. About 7,200 people have lost media jobs so far in 2019.

The pain has already begun:

[S]everal freelance writers who spoke to THR say that various out-of-state employers — some with offices in California — have already told them they’re cutting ties with California freelancers. … THR has additionally reviewed several job notices in transcription, blogging and SEO writing that have explicitly stated that California freelancers will not be considered.

This is only a tiny microcosm of the damage California is inflicting on those who work in the modern gig economy. Freelance journalists have actually been granted an exception to AB 5; that’s why the bureaucrats benevolently allow them to publish 35 articles.

No American could find it acceptable that the likes of Gavin Newsom and Lorena Gonzalez arbitrarily deny thousands of people their right to earn a living. Whether there are enough Americans left in California to do anything about it remains to be seen.

Horrifyingly if unsurprisingly, leftist radical Elizabeth Warren aggressively supports Assembly Bill 5. She will probably be the Democrat Party’s presidential nominee. Lesser candidates Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Pete Buttwhatever endorse it too.

If something like AB 5 is imposed at the national level, it will throw millions of people out of work. But then, Warren et al also endorse the Green New Deal, which could throw tens of millions out of work. The damage these maniacs would inflict on the country is incalculable.

Tim Pool is among the many gasping in astonishment at this outrage:

On tips from StephaneDumas and Varla.

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