The hits just keep on a-coming! Delusional?

One of us here at TPOL misheard reading of this Fox News headline: Gavin Newsom called ‘delusional’ after touting California as national model on fighting homelessness ‘He’s been in power for two decades and hasn’t solved a thing,’ one X user remarked.

How did we misread it? She thought it was “invites homelessness” instead of “fights homelessness.” It was an honest mistake: the People’s Republic of California and many of its jurisdictions (Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County, and good old San Francisco, to name three) seem very much to be promoting the so-called “crisis” of homelessness. Up six percent in the last year alone.

Promoting it by spending billions (going to the usual government contractors and employees, of course) to provide goods and services for the ever-growing homeless populations. Making life easier for them, perhaps, but encouraging continued camping out and dependence of government handouts. Why bother to work when the living can be free and easy? Especially since California is so greedy and stingy that Sacramento won’t raise the minimum wage to $30/hour?

It is worth noting several things:

Of course, California can be considered the Homeland of Delusion. Courtesy of Hollywood, and well ahead of contenders in NYC (Broadway and media) and Nashville. It is not surprising that Newsom would be infected by an endemic hazard of the State.

While California’s homeless rate is 75% higher than the next State (New York), they have already thrown an estimated $24 billion at the problem. That’s half of their State deficit for the last year: a staggering $49 billion. (Admittedly, pikers compared to DC, but still…)

And all that relatively untracked money is going into someone’s pockets: which is why many organizations and individuals continue to push more and more for incredibly foolish decisions to come out of Sacramento. Anything that generates a buck: no matter how heinous. Especially when they can spin it as “compassionate” and “for the children” and “against global warming.”

Delusion on the part of Newsom may be a feature, not a glitch in his future political plans. After all, he is still much less delusional than beloved leader of the Democrats, Uncle Joe. Though maybe a bit more so than Obummer. (But then, officially, Obummer is so, so last decade.) And when you look at the track record of the last five years’ Democratic leaders in the States, and Congress, delusion could be seen as an essential character trait and even job description. (Not that the GOP is any better, just not so flashy maybe.)

But the last thought is staggering. After all, California is seen as “model” for the other forty-nine States in many things. Environmental “protection.” The arts, especially the performing arts. Sadly, the ever-greater role of government in daily life. “Integration” as regards race and culture. Perhaps it is California’s failure to deal with homelessness and homeless people that is the model that Newsom and those like him want us to follow in the other forty-nine States. Maybe he and so many others are measuring success by an entirely different standard than we lovers of liberty are wont to do.

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