California’s Rebuke of Progressive Propositions
By Caroline Downey
Something red has been stirring in the deep blue Golden State. Of all the peculiar developments in 2020, MAGA-clad marchers flooding the posh streets of Beverly Hills for a pro-Trump demonstration may take the cake. Just one more reason why this year is fit for a movie. Maybe California Trumpers finally gained the confidence to publicly express their support for the president— job and social acceptance be damned. Or maybe, a conservative awakening is shaking up the nation's liberal epicenter. California's bizarre political activity reached a fever pitch on election day when most of the state's voters rejected progressivism down the ballot. From a hefty business property tax hike to burdensome regulations on the gig economy, to affirmative action, much of California besides Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area said "NO" to more big government. If they're smart, California's Democratic leaders will take note.
Ben Franklin famously said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” In recent decades, California’s state government has made that prophecy a reality for its citizens. California's reputation on taxation precedes itself. If anything gives credence to the "Taxation is Theft" mantra, it's California. The Democratic legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom are always finding innovative ways to extract more revenue from the population to finance sweeping social programs and services. Proposition 13, a 1970s law that capped taxes on business and residential property at 1% of their purchase value, has long been California's single tax-saving grace. However, during the 2020 election, California's progressive politicians snuck in a proposal to eliminate it. They introduced Proposition 15, which would require a reappraisal of those properties every three years, thereby steeply increasing property taxes. While CA's unions insisted the measure would only target big corporations, small businesses, farmers, entrepreneurs, and consumers worried they'd take a hit too. Ultimately, voters decided they'd had enough of new taxes and put Prop. 15 in its grave. While California is unlikely to ever be a tax-haven in my lifetime, this decision at least prevented the Californian tax code from getting any worse.
A surprise for such a diverse state, California's electorate also shot down Proposition 16, which allows for racial preferences in university admissions and state hiring. The outcome showed that many California residents are perhaps not as motivated by identity politics as the stereotypes suggest. Unlike California's governing elites, it appears many of its citizens still value equality under the law. After rebuking affirmative action, California voters rescued ride-sharing and delivery providers like Uber and Lyft from invasive government overreach. Proposition 22, which exempted these apps from being forced to reclassify their freelance drivers as employees, passed with flying colors. Prop. 22 was a strike against California's pre-existing AB5 law, which requires companies in the gig economy to provide paid healthcare and other employee benefits to their independent contractors. Not only does the AB5 law impose punitive costs on large and small California businesses alike, but it also kills the flexibility and mobility so crucial for thousands of these workers. But while industries with a lot of capital successfully lobbied for exclusions to AB5, plenty of small proprietors had no recourse. It's a tale as old as time. With seemingly good intentions, California's progressive lawmakers made things a whole lot worse, most of all for the little guy who couldn't afford a lobbyist. Therefore, California's passage of Prop. 22 was a welcome relief for these companies already struggling under the weight of the state's prolonged anti-business lockdowns.
A big theme in California on election day was repudiation— both of progressivism and the political elites who continue to peddle it. Between Madame “Salongate” Nancy Pelosi and Governor Gavin Newsom, ruling class hypocrites seem to hail from California. From hearing about the protests outside Pelosi’s San Francisco residence back in September, you might get the feeling that many Californians are #fedup. Amidst the business-crushing mandates and restrictions, Newsom is creating yet more resentment among his constituents. Just hours after discouraging California residents from hosting Thanksgiving gatherings, Newsom attended a lavish dinner party with political socialites in Napa Valley. Newsom reminds us of the hit TV sitcom, The Office, character Michael Scott, who decided to cancel Christmas for his employees despite lacking the authority to do so. In the words of Stanley Hudson, representing his Dunder-Mifflin co-workers and the people of California, “You can’t cancel a holiday.”
Despite dedicating a record amount of money to progressive proposition campaigns and candidates, California Democrats had little to celebrate after election day. There is a growing disparity between California's liberal state government and the people it represents. This picture is a microcosm of the disconnect we see between the elitist Washington establishment and the American citizenry that allows it to govern. On November 3rd, the blue wave the Democratic party desperately tried to spend into existence across America failed to materialize. Instead, historic turnouts in pivotal states handed the GOP the crucial fighting power it needed to block the Left's increasingly radical agenda. And in California, "For Thee but Not for Me," Gavin Newsom and his cronies were sent a message: your time is running out.
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