WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.680 There's an interesting piece in cal Matters talking about housing 2 00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:09.000 and California housing and specifically how the Trump administration could 3 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:15.599 make housing more or less difficult to build in the 4 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:21.000 state of California. Now, it would seem hard to imagine 5 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:25.039 a scenario how the Trump administration could make it more difficult, 6 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:30.000 given that it's already happening at an unbelievable snail's pace. 7 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:33.960 I actually read a stat that the Dallas area of 8 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:40.679 Texas alone, which I assume is Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, 9 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:43.439 which is a big population but not as big as 10 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:48.479 all of California, the Dallas area of Texas alone is 11 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:51.719 building more houses per year than California is than the 12 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.359 whole state of California is. 13 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:59.240 It's just insane. 14 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:02.119 And we've had this continuous problem in California that we're 15 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:06.560 not building enough to meet demand. And that simple math 16 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:09.920 in economics that when you have high demand and low supply, 17 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:13.079 that leads to high high, high, high high prices and 18 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:18.920 it's unsustainable. It's what drove the idea for the stupid 19 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:22.439 high speed rail train, the idea of basically that basically 20 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:25.000 the chief benefit of the high speed rail train would 21 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:29.079 have been for Bay Area workers. That they could live 22 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:32.879 further and further and further away from San Francisco or 23 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:37.239 Silicon Valley, live further and further and further south, and 24 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:39.799 then just zip up, you know, twice a week or 25 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:45.599 something on the train, get your mansion in Madera, and 26 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:49.079 commute up to San Jose for your work maybe once 27 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:57.560 a week or something. Now here's the main problem in 28 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:02.040 California is that we impose all kinds of building regulations 29 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:06.200 that make it really difficult and environmental regulations that make 30 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:10.080 it really difficult for builders to invest the money needed 31 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:16.960 to build homes. That's the first, last, and middle problem. 32 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:21.680 As much as we have these debates in California about 33 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:28.159 not in my backyard ism, nimbiism, you know, wealthy liberal 34 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:29.639 enclaves of. 35 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:32.319 California that refuse to have you know, a. 36 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:35.360 Multi unit dwelling built in their city and block it 37 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:38.120 through municipal action, you know, at the level of the 38 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:40.759 city council or the city Planning Commission, whatever. 39 00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:44.479 And I feel like, though that stuff is. 40 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:47.879 That is talked about a lot as if that's some 41 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:51.719 big problem, but that attitude exists all over the United 42 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:57.319 States of America. Those attitudes can exist, those mechanisms for 43 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:01.000 trying to blockhousing can exist in city councils all up 44 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.039 and down this country, and other parts of the country 45 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:06.800 don't have the problem with housing that we have. Why Well, 46 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:11.159 because other states don't have the environmental regulation that we have. 47 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:13.879 Other states don't have the kinds of environmental laws that 48 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:21.120 make it so easy to block new construction. Probably the 49 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:27.280 most sort of consequential of these is SEQUA, the California 50 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:30.800 Environmental Quality Act. So with SEQUA, there's all kinds of 51 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:38.319 insane things that does. Every new project requires a kind 52 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:41.360 of a massive sort of environmental impact report that's very 53 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:45.319 onerous to put together, very expensive to put together. You'll 54 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.439 have a situation like what's happening right now, where the 55 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:51.719 City of Fresno put together a massive citywide environmental impact 56 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:56.759 report to sort of help facilitate people investing in Fresno 57 00:03:56.879 --> 00:04:02.000 to build stuff in Fresno, businesses building. So the city 58 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.080 of Fresno basically tried to do much of the work 59 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:10.319 for these developers, and then the developers their environmental impact 60 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:12.520 report would just have to be this smaller thing. Well 61 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:17.600 guess what happened though, And this is another lovely part 62 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:22.680 of SEQUA is that anyone can sue you for allegedly 63 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:27.439 not fully complying with sequa's terms. Anyone can sue you. 64 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:31.160 It doesn't have to be someone who's directly harmed by 65 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:35.920 the environmental impact of your construction project or something. That's 66 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:42.480 the way that most American litigation happens. Most lawsuits in America, 67 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:47.519 you have to somehow be harmed before you can sue somebody. 68 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:51.439 You have to be the one who is harmed before 69 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:54.519 you have what's called standing to sue. 70 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:55.560 Standing is a. 71 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:00.160 Sort of essential bedrock of American law, bedrock principle, bed 72 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.800 rock limiting principle. Then not anybody can sue anybody for anything. 73 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:10.639 If someone crashes their car into my friend Jonathan Keller's house, 74 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:14.759 well Jonathan can sue the guy for negligence, for property 75 00:05:14.839 --> 00:05:18.480 damage whatever. I can't sue the guy though. I can't 76 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:20.319 come into the court and say I'm suing this man 77 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:22.920 for crashing his car into Jonathan Keller's house, and the 78 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:25.360 judge will look at me and say, well, why are 79 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:28.759 you here, Why are you suing so well, I'm really 80 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:31.879 upset your honor. Yeah, well that's not enough to provide 81 00:05:31.879 --> 00:05:36.439 you with standing. You have to suffer some harm. You 82 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:43.279 have to have some showable damages, something that has happened 83 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:46.439 to you, some infringement of your rights, some economic harm, 84 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:52.199 whatever it is, before you can sue. SEQUA kind of 85 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:57.160 is a massive exception to that basic normal principle of 86 00:05:57.160 --> 00:06:01.639 American law with SEQUA, I guess because they sort of figure, well, 87 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:06.160 environmental harms are so diffuse that basically, who is the 88 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:09.560 one person harmed by a bad environment? Does anyone who 89 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:10.800 has asthma. 90 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:11.439 Able to sue? 91 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:14.920 Well, not necessarily, So basically what they do is go 92 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:17.560 to the opposite extreme and just say everyone can sue. 93 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:23.879 Anyone can sue anybody, any real estate developer, any builder, 94 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:27.879 And in the case of the City of Fresno, a 95 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:30.879 city putting together an environmental impact report, a city wide 96 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:36.839 environmental impact report can be sued by literally anyone for 97 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:40.160 violating the terms of SEQUA. And that's precisely what happened 98 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:42.319 with the City of Fresno. The City of Fresno got 99 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:46.240 sued for its citywide environmental Impact Report, which was the 100 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:49.920 basis off of which all these other developers all over 101 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:57.360 the city were building projects. Some left wing nonprofit groups 102 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:00.199 sues the City of Fresno over its environmental impact report, 103 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:03.959 a judge agrees with them, and guess what. Now, We've 104 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:10.560 got like twelve different construction, housing, etc. Projects all stalled 105 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:15.800 because of some RinkyDink nonprofit organization that wins a lawsuit. 106 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:29.639 And it's that threat that I think hinders housing construction businesses, 107 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:34.360 businesses that want to build things from building. Why would 108 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:37.399 you start a massive housing project if you have no 109 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:40.720 idea that in the middle of it, litigation might fly 110 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.800 in on some spurious grounds to say that no, no, no, 111 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:48.160 the environmental impact report is insufficient. That this environmental heart 112 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:51.800 and the lawsuit could come from anybody. It could come 113 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:57.240 from a competing developer. It could come from Joe Bleep, 114 00:07:57.279 --> 00:07:59.560 the Ragman, as my dad used to say. It could 115 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:03.720 come from some environmental Waco group. It could come from 116 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:05.639 maybe it could come. 117 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:06.839 From a NIMBI impulse. 118 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:12.360 You want to build a multi dwelling unit, some apartments 119 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:16.079 and homeowners in the neighborhood think that that's going to 120 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:18.879 reduce their property values, so they sue you for the 121 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:21.839 alleged environmental impact of what you're doing, when really they 122 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:24.000 don't give a darn about the environmental impact. What they 123 00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:26.040 care about is the fact that they think it's going 124 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:27.879 to reduce their property values. 125 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:36.120 So the result of this. 126 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:46.000 Furthermore is that what kind of housing can California builders build. Well, 127 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:51.399 the only things they can really build is very hot. 128 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:56.440 Now this isn't true universally, but broad strokes and we 129 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.279 do see this in Fresno. A lot of the construction 130 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:03.360 that's happening in Fresno is one of two things. It's 131 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:08.360 either very high end or very low end. It's either 132 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:13.799 very high end apartments in Clovis and that are very 133 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:17.799 far north where they can charge very high rents, or 134 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:26.600 it's registered trademark California lower income housing registered trademark. Now, 135 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.919 the problem is that registered trademark California lower income housing 136 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:33.120 has to meet all these kinds of environmental requirements, etc. 137 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:37.360 Such that it's more expensive to build than the normal 138 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:39.159 housing that people in most of the states of the 139 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:43.559 United States live in. It's very expensive to build quote 140 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:48.639 lower income community housing. You've had stories of these apartment 141 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:52.519 complexes being built as quote lower income housing in California 142 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:55.399 where each unit costs like five hundred thousand dollars. I 143 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:57.159 think about a story where each unit costs like a 144 00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:03.759 million dollars to build and the only reason builders can 145 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:07.759 build it is because the state is dumping out subsidies 146 00:10:09.080 --> 00:10:13.600 to allow it to be profitable for the builders. So 147 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:15.679 the only ways you can make money is if you 148 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:19.519 build quote, lower income housing and you get a state subsidy, 149 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:25.519 or you build really high end stuff for high wealthy 150 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:30.480 people where you know that you can charge very high rents, 151 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:33.600 or self for very high Guess where that leaves the 152 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:34.799 middle class. 153 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:43.600 With jack You know what? So how would a Trump 154 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:48.320 administration impact this? Well? 155 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:51.679 The article from cal Matters focuses a lot on immigration, 156 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:56.120 and it keeps saying, well, if President Trump deports all 157 00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:58.519 the illegal aliens, then who will be around to build 158 00:10:58.919 --> 00:11:07.480 o offend, which strikes me as naive. We already went 159 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:12.039 through a Trump administration once there wasn't a lack of 160 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:18.320 workers able to build housing. The idea that the unsustainably 161 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:22.919 high levels of illegal immigration that the Biden administration allowed 162 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:26.840 to flow into this country that we couldn't have both 163 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:32.639 one massive deportations and two enough workers to do construction, I. 164 00:11:33.080 --> 00:11:37.600 Think is incredibly naive and a silly talking point. 165 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:43.159 One of the main people quoted in this piece is 166 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:45.360 I think one of the worst people in all of 167 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:51.799 American politics, and certainly in California politics. Scott Wiener, it 168 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:55.039 was a California state senator who represents sort of Nancy 169 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:57.399 Pelosi's stomping grounds right in the heart of San Francisco. 170 00:11:57.840 --> 00:11:59.799 This is the kind of guy who actually marked he's 171 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:02.639 a state senator. He marches in gay pride parades wearing 172 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:03.840 leather stuff. 173 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:05.759 Just leave it at that. 174 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:09.159 This is the guy who's introduced all kinds of horrible 175 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:15.159 sort of you know, horrible stuff with transgenderism, about if 176 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:18.960 a kid comes from out of state to California wanting 177 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:22.720 to transition, the parents don't can we transition the kid 178 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:27.360 without the parents approval? Like he's that level, Like he's maybe, 179 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:30.639 as I say, one of the worst people in all 180 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:33.759 of American politics. Like there were some rumblings that he 181 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.200 was going to run for Nancy Pelosi that there still are, 182 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:38.000 I think rumblings that he's going to run for Nancy 183 00:12:38.039 --> 00:12:44.919 Pelosi's House of Representatives district once she retires. The rumblings 184 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:49.919 are between Christine Pelosi, Nancy's daughter, and him, and I 185 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:53.879 hate him so much I would campaign for Christine Pelosi 186 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:57.200 to make sure that he doesn't get that seat. Like 187 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:01.360 I'm almost serious. I don't know that i'd actually campaign 188 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:05.960 for a Pelosi, but oh my gosh, he is the worst. 189 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:18.200 So Wiener raises the concerns that President Electrump could deport 190 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:20.840 enough people that it would increase the cause of housing, 191 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:26.440 and that tariffs could increased costs with regard to housing. 192 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:30.960 Maybe tariffs, what I mean that might be fair? I 193 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:34.399 mean that there are trade offs with tariffs, but they're 194 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:37.039 you know, it could have the impact of making certain 195 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.360 kinds of products that are used in construction more expensive. 196 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:47.360 It's rich, though, hearing any Democrat in California complain about 197 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:50.639 Republican policies and how Republican policies might make housing more 198 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:55.360 expensive when they all know the score. Everything I said 199 00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:57.679 in the first ten minutes of this show about why 200 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:01.080 housing is expensive in California, how environmental regulation makes housing 201 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:07.960 more expensive, everyone in our state legislature knows it. Everyone 202 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:12.720 in our state legislature understands the negative impacts of SEQUA, 203 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:15.360 Everyone in our state legislature understands the negative impacts of 204 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:20.519 lots of other kinds of specifically California regulation that makes 205 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:26.679 housing more expensive. They know what the problem is. Honestly, 206 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:28.960 it's very similar to the right. I mean, like, you know, 207 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:31.799 there are people on the right who complain about, you know, 208 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:35.080 the federal budget being out of balance and spending is 209 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:37.559 too much. Well, the reason why spending is too much 210 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:40.840 is because of Medicare, Medicaid, and the military. 211 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:42.000 Those are the main things. 212 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:47.039 If you aren't going to cut those things, you're really 213 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:49.960 never going to balance the budget. And nobody wants to 214 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:52.240 cut those things. Certainly nobody on the right does anymore. 215 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:55.000 They don't want to cut the military, they don't want 216 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:57.240 to cut Medicare, they don't want to cut Medicaid, they 217 00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:00.960 don't want to cut Social Security. This is a Republican 218 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:05.639 This sort of willful blindness to the problem is not 219 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:07.519 exclusively a left going phenomenon. 220 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:08.519 It exists on the right too. 221 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:13.840 But in California, everyone understands why housing is expensive, and 222 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:16.080 they just don't want to do anything to stop it. 223 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.759 They don't want to do anything to change it. And 224 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:20.960 I guess that's what I don't understand about some of these, 225 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:27.480 like Harvard Howard Jarvis texts fighters Association types. If they've 226 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:33.039 got the money for ballad initiative fights, which seemingly they do, 227 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:38.840 why don't they just introduce ballid initiatives to try to 228 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:46.519 abolish or reform sequa why not it strikes me, or 229 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:49.799 to reform the California Resources Board, to do all kinds 230 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:55.000 of things. It just strikes me as bizarre that we've 231 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:58.600 got this direct democracy system in California and people on 232 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:03.679 the right have been so inept at utilizing it to 233 00:16:03.720 --> 00:16:06.799 fix problems. When we return, how I wonder if this 234 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:11.879 is an untapped resource, the ballot initiative system, if this 235 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:15.519 is a totally untapped resources for the right in California. 236 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:20.080 Next on the John Growardy Show, going through this piece 237 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:25.120 from Calmatters dot org about whether or not it's written 238 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:28.960 by Felicia Mellow discussing the idea of whether or not 239 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:35.279 a Trump administration could ease the problems with housing in California. 240 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:38.840 We come against this problem. I don't know how much 241 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:47.840 the Trump administration could really do. Certainly there's federal regulation 242 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:52.200 that Trump could cut. There are other things Trump could 243 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:57.559 do that could influence the cost of housing in some cases, 244 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:03.480 perhaps negatively, like tariffs. Tariffs could I mean, I'm open 245 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:06.039 to the argument that tariffs over the long run could 246 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:07.920 be a good thing for the economy and could be 247 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:10.920 beneficial for American industry in lots of ways. It would 248 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:15.119 probably though, make certain kinds of products used in home 249 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:19.880 construction more expensive. Maybe you say that's worth it given 250 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:23.000 the trade offs in other ways. But that is a 251 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:31.920 real possibility. But the real problem I see is how 252 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:34.799 do you get you know, how do you bring this 253 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:37.160 horse to water? You can bring the horse to water, 254 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:40.160 you can't make them drink. How does Trump make the 255 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:44.839 horse of California drink? I mean, Trump can do anything 256 00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:47.440 you want at the federal level. It doesn't make state 257 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:51.079 laws go away in California, doesn't make state regulators in 258 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:56.720 California go away. It doesn't make state regulation go away. 259 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:00.160 It doesn't make the California Air Resources Board go away, 260 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:03.200 which is passed sort of on its own, various kinds 261 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:04.920 of environmental regulations that are harmful. 262 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:13.599 It doesn't make things like what other things. It doesn't 263 00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:15.240 make sequa go away. 264 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:19.200 Trump can do all that stuff he wants, but that's 265 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:20.319 never going away. 266 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:22.880 Now. 267 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:27.119 I think there are possibilities at the federal level that 268 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:32.079 Trump could and especially since housing as a major problem 269 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.640 seems to be much more of a focus of the 270 00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:38.319 Trump forty seven administration than it was the trump forty 271 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:42.440 five administration. Vice President elect Vance talked about it a 272 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:47.240 lot on the campaign trail. I think there's a lot 273 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:52.880 to it. I think there's a lot more focus on 274 00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:56.359 this issue than there was before. I'd be interested to 275 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:59.640 see who the new head of Housing and Urban Development 276 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:00.319 is going to be. 277 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:02.279 I hope it's not. 278 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:06.960 What often tends to happen is that basically administrations dump 279 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.480 somebody to be the Secretary for Housing in Urban Development too. 280 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:12.400 You know, it's sort of a political ally. 281 00:19:12.440 --> 00:19:14.400 They sort of want a reward, but you know, they're 282 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:16.240 not sure what to do with him, so they make 283 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:18.480 him the head of HUT. That's what they did with 284 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:26.359 Ben Carson, which didn't make much sense to me. So 285 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:32.079 I guess we'll have to see. But I guess the 286 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.880 problem is that there is a bunch of California law 287 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:40.519 that Trump still has in his way that that's not 288 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:45.359 going to change now when we return, I want to 289 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:48.440 focus on the California ballid initiative system. 290 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:49.680 I wanted to save this for the. 291 00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:52.440 Third segment so I have more time the California ballid 292 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:57.359 initiative system, how I think it's underutilized, and how there's 293 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:01.759 one person who started to be come involved in American politics, 294 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:05.079 who could maybe do something really impressive with it. That's 295 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:07.200 next on the John Girardi Show. 296 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:09.799 I think the. 297 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:16.039 California ballot initiative system is massively underutilized by the right, 298 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:21.240 and I think this most recent election cycle has showed 299 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:25.680 us that there is an avenue there for pursuing conservative events. 300 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:29.240 So let me let me go through a little bit 301 00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:33.599 some of the election results from the ballot initiatives this 302 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:38.720 past election cycle in twenty twenty four. It may be 303 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:44.200 that we're seeing a right word shift nationally and maybe 304 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:47.160 even a little bit in California. Every state in the 305 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:52.359 Union seemingly went a little bit right, even states that 306 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:57.440 Harris won went right of where they were in twenty twenty. 307 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:02.160 I mean that there was one point during the evening 308 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:03.000 on election night. 309 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:06.240 I remember the CNN where they had oh, what is 310 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:07.039 that guy's name? 311 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:09.640 He was talking with Jake Tapper, one of their election 312 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:12.839 analyst dudes, and he was showing, these are all of 313 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:16.599 the counties throughout the entire United States of America that 314 00:21:16.680 --> 00:21:21.079 we've tracked that Kamala Harris has outperformed Joe Biden from 315 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:23.960 twenty twenty And then they showed it, and there was 316 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.799 not one county in the entire United States highlighted on 317 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:29.519 the map at the time. Jake Tapper's standing there incredules 318 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:34.240 what not even one. Now, eventually, I think over time, 319 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:37.519 as we've counted all the votes, there were a few counties, 320 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:39.759 maybe like three or four, that that Harris did in 321 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:47.279 fact outperform Joe Biden. But the matter stands, Republicans did 322 00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:50.319 much better, Democrats did much worse. There's a right word 323 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:54.720 shift in the country, and you could even see that 324 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:57.960 in California. California, Republicans actually did decently well in some 325 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:03.119 of the House raises, and I think actually picked up 326 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:08.200 one or two competitive seats in the state legislature. And 327 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:13.759 most of all, I think the ballot initiative outcomes were surprising, 328 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:21.960 surprisingly good for Republicans. A lot of things that Republicans 329 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:25.799 wanted to see blocked were blocked. Rent control was blocked, 330 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:34.880 a minimum wage increase was blocked. Now, some liberal priorities 331 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:39.839 did get passed. The stupid ten billion dollars statewide education 332 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.240 bond passed. It's all right, we'll spend ten billion dollars 333 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:44.920 in education stuff that we'll have to pay for down 334 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:47.240 the road with twenty billion dollars, because a bond is 335 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:49.160 a loan to a governmental entity that you have to 336 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:51.680 pay back with interest, and the interest will basically be 337 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:56.440 more or less double the principle. So you know, ten 338 00:22:56.519 --> 00:23:01.039 billion dollar bond for education. Why because the teachers' unions 339 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:02.680 were mad that there wasn't enough in the state budget. 340 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:04.440 Guess what, There's never going to be enough in the 341 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:05.680 state budget for the teachers. 342 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:08.599 This is the norm. 343 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:13.079 Our spending habits outstripped the revenue we were going to 344 00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:17.720 take in. A bunch of revenue left this state during COVID. 345 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.599 Bunch of wealthy people left and took their capital gains taxes, 346 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.599 took their income taxes with them, and they're not coming back. 347 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.799 So are we just every year the state budget won't 348 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:32.440 be enough for education and we'll just do another bond measure. 349 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:34.039 We'll just put ourselves more and more and more in 350 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:37.000 debt for the rest of time. All right, sounds like 351 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:40.440 that's what's going to happen. So Proposition two passed. Proposition fours, 352 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:43.559 maybe even more egregiously stupid, ten billion dollars for various 353 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:46.160 environmental projects of that past. So I'm not saying all 354 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:50.240 the ballot initiative results were great for Republicans, but the 355 00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:55.640 signal achievement of the right in the ballot initiative space 356 00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:01.599 in twenty twenty four was Proposition thirty six. This was 357 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:07.799 the ballot initiative to classify certain kinds of crimes as 358 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:12.160 felonies rather than misdemeanors. These were things that historically were 359 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:15.039 felonies and then ten years ago Prop. Forty seven, Prop 360 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:18.799 fifty seven made them into misdemeanors. And guess what if 361 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:20.880 it's a misdemeanor rather than a felony, that's a big 362 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:24.279 disincentive to charge it at the level of your district attorney. 363 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:30.000 And so you had people getting away with all kinds 364 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:33.119 of drug crimes, all kinds of robbery crimes. So Prop 365 00:24:33.160 --> 00:24:36.759 thirty six was this targeted thing to classify certain kinds 366 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:40.599 of crimes as felonies rather than misdemeanors and restore some 367 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:46.000 semblance of wanting to actually prosecute people for crime into 368 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:49.880 the California criminal justice system. 369 00:24:50.119 --> 00:24:52.359 On a local level, we also saw. 370 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:55.359 That this mood was impacting the state as Los Angeles 371 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:59.079 County kicked out George Gascon, their ultra left wing prosecutor. 372 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:08.279 Now I thought that was an impressive outcome. To actually 373 00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:17.039 affirmatively pass a conservative ballot initiative was amazing, and Prop 374 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:23.599 thirty six passed easily seventy two percent. It won every 375 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:26.799 single county of California. There was not one county where 376 00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:35.960 the nos outweighed the yeses easy, And it got me 377 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:45.039 to thinking that ballot initiative being successful, is that what 378 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:49.960 spurs some of the California old guard Orange County Republican 379 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:55.000 money to maybe think about maybe we invest in a 380 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.279 couple of more things. Because this is as far as 381 00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:01.720 I can tell. I'm not a one hundred percent expert 382 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:03.559 in these things, but I've seen glimpses of this stuff. 383 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:08.559 This is the lay of the land with Republican money 384 00:26:08.839 --> 00:26:16.799 in California. So Orange County is still a big deal 385 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:23.559 in Republican politics because a lot of very, very wealthy 386 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:33.920 Republican donors live there. You'll often see national Republican figures 387 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:34.880 on social media some. 388 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:37.599 Oh just taking a visit out to Orange County. 389 00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:42.519 Hmm, I wonder why they're doing that. It's quite obvious 390 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:45.559 why they're doing that. They're doing that to go fundraise. 391 00:26:49.720 --> 00:26:55.799 Orange County still has a ton of Republican money. San 392 00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:59.839 Joaquin Valley has some big Republican money, but Orange County 393 00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:02.079 is a real and there are a couple of donors 394 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:04.480 in the San Juaquin Valley who are significant players on 395 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:09.079 the national scene. But it's in Orange County where a 396 00:27:09.119 --> 00:27:12.599 ton of Republican money resides, and the attitudes of Orange 397 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:21.640 County Republicans tend to dominate the state party now basically 398 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:25.039 Orange County Republicans, I think for the last decade or so, 399 00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:30.759 they've largely given up on the state. They've given up, 400 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:36.599 they've certainly given up on social conservative causes. After the 401 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:40.640