Nick Ward

𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐀 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒𝐎𝐌: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐒 Gavin Newsom wants to run for President. Before a single ballot is cast, every American deserves to see what he did to the largest state in the union. I did a little research and coalesced everything into this post from public resources. 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬: 𝟐𝟏𝟔,𝟎𝟎𝟎 net population loss in 2024–25 alone (U.S. Census Bureau). Over 𝟏.𝟒 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 residents fled since 2020 (CA Dept. of Finance). The largest outbound migration of any state in America. People aren't leaving paradise — they're escaping a dumpster fire with a coastline. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 $𝟐𝟒 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: California spent $𝟐𝟒 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 on homelessness over five years. That's roughly $𝟏𝟑𝟐,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. The result? Homelessness 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 by 30,000 people — from 151,000 to over 181,000. That's a 𝟓𝟑% 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 since 2013 (HUD). It gets worse. The California State Auditor found the agency responsible for tracking outcomes — the Interagency Council on Homelessness — 𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏. No consistent method to collect outcome data. Didn't verify accuracy of data from municipalities. The state database was riddled with deleted records and test entries. They burned through $24 billion and 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭. And in San Jose and San Diego, over 𝟖𝟓% of homeless placements were into temporary housing — not permanent. 𝟒𝟎% of those people ended up back on the street. A $24 billion revolving door. 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐚𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝: $𝟏𝟐𝟔 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 for a high-speed rail that was originally budgeted at $33B and has moved 𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 (CA HSR Authority). A $𝟕𝟑 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 budget deficit in 2024–25 (LAO). That's not governance. That's arson with a spreadsheet. 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬: Chevron, SpaceX, Tesla, Oracle, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Charles Schwab — all relocated their headquarters to Texas. Over 𝟑𝟓𝟎 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 fled California between 2018 and 2024 (Hoover Institution). These aren't strip malls. These are the engines of the American economy voting with their feet. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐱-𝐚𝐧𝐝-𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥: California charges the highest income tax in America — 𝟏𝟑.𝟑% — and gets half its income tax revenue from the top 1% of earners. So what happens when you squeeze the golden goose? It leaves. In 2022, Newsom saw a one-time post-COVID revenue spike — fueled by federal relief money, not real growth — and declared a 𝐛𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐬 "$𝟗𝟕.𝟓 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐬" that never appeared in any actual budget document (CalMatters). He went on a spending spree. Two years later, the state quietly admitted to a $𝟏𝟔𝟓 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 revenue forecasting error over four years (LAO). Personal income tax collections crashed 𝟐𝟓% in a single year. The "Big Three" revenue sources dropped 𝟐𝟏% (LAO). And it's getting worse. An estimated $𝟏 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 in billionaire wealth has left the state. Six billionaires alone — including @elonmusk and Larry Ellison — took roughly 𝟑𝟎% of California's aggregate billionaire wealth with them. Every dollar of capital gains they generate for the rest of their lives will now be taxed at 0% in Texas instead of 13.3% in Sacramento. Sacramento's response? Propose a new wealth tax — which is accelerating the exodus even faster. The LAO projects deficits of $𝟑𝟎 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧/𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 for the remainder of Newsom's term. They are taxing themselves into bankruptcy. 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠: Electricity costs 𝟖𝟕% 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 the national average (EIA). Gas at $𝟒.𝟖𝟓/𝐠𝐚𝐥 vs. $3.20 nationally (AAA). Californians pay more for the privilege of watching their state crumble. 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 & 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞: Prop 47 reclassified theft under $950 as a misdemeanor — retail theft surged so badly that Walgreens and Whole Foods shuttered locations in San Francisco. 𝟏𝟖𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎+ homeless residents — the largest unsheltered population in the United States (HUD). This is Gavin Newsom's California. The population is fleeing. The businesses are gone. The billionaires took a trillion dollars with them. The budget is a crater built on a $165 billion fantasy. They spent $132,000 per homeless person and ended up with 30,000 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 of them. The trains don't exist. The lights barely stay on. And the shoplifters have more legal protection than the store owners. This isn't a resume. It's a rap sheet. And this is what Gavin Newsom is running on. This is all he has to offer. He can't point to a single crisis he inherited — he 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 them. Population loss, revenue collapse, a homeless crisis that got worse the more money he threw at it, a business exodus with no end in sight, and a budget held together with accounting gimmicks and borrowed time. The question every voter should ask: is this the model you want copied to all 50 states? Because that's the only thing he's selling. 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚. 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. And no, the other 49 states don't want him either.