When it comes to the issue that voters across the political spectrum now rank as their top concern — the cost of living — the two most influential states in American politics are offering a stark contrast in approaches. And according to a new analysis from a former California congressman, the battle for the middle class is effectively being fought in Austin and Sacramento, with one side proposing a concrete plan and the other, so far, producing little more than study committees.
Writing for The Daily Wire, John Campbell — a Republican who represented California’s 45th and 48th congressional districts from 2005 to 2015 and spent 25 years in the retail automotive industry — argues that Texas Governor Greg Abbott has put forward a six-point plan to improve affordability in the Lone Star State. Campbell points to the widely used C2ER cost-of-living index, which ranks Texas as the 15th most affordable state, noting that Abbott, who is running for a fourth term this year, has made moving Texas higher in those rankings a priority.
“It’s a brilliant plan,” Campbell writes. “Much of the increase in costs for the average person has been caused by increased government spending, taxes, and regulation. Or, in some cases, regulation that prevents the private sector from offering a more cost-effective product. This plan is aimed directly at improving those conditions.”
The Texas plan, as described, targets housing, energy, insurance, and tuition — areas that affect virtually every Texan. For Campbell, it reflects a philosophy that affordability is best achieved by reducing the government-imposed burdens that pile onto the private sector and, ultimately, onto consumers.
The contrast with California, where Campbell was born and raised, could not be starker. The Golden State ranks as the third least affordable state in the nation, according to the same C2ER index — only Hawaii and Massachusetts have higher costs of living. Given that California’s affordability problem is far worse than Texas’s, Campbell argues it would seem logical that California would produce an even bigger, more aggressive plan to tackle it.
That, he suggests, is not happening.
California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat from San Benito, gave a much-publicized address at the beginning of the state’s legislative session vowing to take on affordability. In April of last year, he created three select committees to recommend ways to lower costs. Their titles, Campbell notes, are instructive: CalFresh Enrollment and Nutrition; Child Care Costs; and Housing Finance and Affordability.
“Sixteen months later,” Campbell writes, “those select committees have produced…nothing.”
The contrast in priorities is telling. While Texas focuses on cutting taxes, easing regulation, and lowering the cost of insurance, energy, and housing through structural reform, California’s legislative leadership has created entities focused on food assistance enrollment and child care subsidies — programs that, in Campbell’s view, address symptoms rather than underlying cost drivers.
Campbell is equally critical of Governor Gavin Newsom’s approach. Noting that Newsom has been distracted by his presidential ambitions and has “moved to the left of AOC,” Campbell argues that the governor’s November ballot measures amount to handouts for certain Democratic constituencies — measures that, in his telling, will “no doubt be loaded with fraud like every other California program” — plus a housing bill that slows down the implementation of some new regulations while leaving most existing ones in place.
The deeper issue, Campbell contends, is structural: Democratic policy positions on climate, unions, government spending, taxes, and regulation are themselves the very things that drive up costs. He points to the broader national picture as evidence — of the 20 most affordable states in the C2ER index, only two are blue states (New Mexico and Minnesota).
“For California to truly address the problem, it needs to undo much of what the legislature and governor have done in the last 20 years,” Campbell writes. “But that would be an admission of failure. One trait of Democrats is that they never admit that a policy has failed. If it isn’t working, it is only because they didn’t do enough of it.”
Campbell’s critique extends to California Democrats’ political strategy: he predicts they will continue to talk about affordability while blaming high costs on the policies of President Donald Trump, all the while “doing nothing except make the situation worse.” He even warns against California looking to New York for ideas, alluding to New York City’s brief experiment with a government-run grocery store as an example of misguided policy.
To illustrate the real-world impact of policy choices, Campbell offers a personal anecdote. In Scottsdale, Arizona, he bought his longtime go-to McDonald’s meal: a quarter-pounder with cheese, medium fries, and a milk. The next day, after flying to Costa Mesa, California, he purchased the exact same meal — and it cost 70% more.
“The ingredients are the same,” he writes. “The difference, though, is the additional insurance, regulatory, legal, tax, and other costs the California franchisee has to build into the price of that burger.” He jokes that the same meal will likely get even cheaper in Texas, where Abbott’s plan aims to reduce those same burdens.
The article comes at a time when affordability is dominating the national political conversation. Survey after survey this election cycle has shown that voters across party lines are concerned about the rising cost of everyday goods, and both Republicans and Democrats have sought to claim ownership of the issue. But the paths they are taking, Campbell argues, could not be more different.
One party, he says, is moving toward less government intervention and lower costs. The other is creating committees, issuing bonds, and expanding programs — approaches that, at least in California, have yet to produce the relief that voters are demanding. Whether the state’s leadership will ultimately change course may be a key test not just for California, but for the national Democratic Party’s message on the economy.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-the-battle-for-the-middle-class-runs-through-austin-and-sacramento