Failifornia

Due to sky-high taxation and all-around government incompetence, California has shifted from the Gold Rush state to the Outrush state.

In 2014, James Lacy released Taxiforinia, a book that identified and examined the real causes of California’s decline.

Lacy wrote that Californians face the heaviest taxation in America and that these high taxes are steadily destroying the state’s economy. He explained, “Tax-and-spend liberals who are in control have created a state that taxes and regulates more than any other in the country. They have engineered a rotting economy with among the highest unemployment rates in the U.S. Its high taxes hurt all Californians by making the state too expensive for businesses to turn a profit. Business flight has become widespread.”

Sadly, over the past 12 years, things haven’t improved at all. In fact, they’ve gotten worse. For example, the once-golden state is the country’s leader in income tax rates, with a whopping 13.3% rate on high earners. On the other hand, nine states, including Texas, Florida, and Nevada, have no state tax whatsoever.

The state tax on gasoline is about 71 cents per gallon, making it the highest in the country. The national average price for a gallon of regular gas today is $3.11, but in California, it’s $4.67.

Additionally, California has the highest state-level retail sales tax rate in the U.S., at 7.25%. When combined with local taxes, total rates in California climb to 11.25% in some areas. Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and other states have no state sales tax.

California is currently considering adopting a “wealth tax.” A proposed ballot initiative, the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, would impose a one-time 5% levy on the net worth of California residents with more than $1 billion, calculated as of Jan. 1, 2026, with payments due in 2027 and an option to spread payments over five years for an additional fee.

California is now considering an environmentally friendly climate tax increase that would require refiners and producers to cut their CO2 emissions or buy allowances from the state to offset them. The program’s high costs have led manufacturers to move operations out of the state and have raised gasoline prices by about 24 cents a gallon.

Furthermore, California has the distinction of being the state with the highest poverty rate in the U.S., and, for good measure, the highest unemployment rate at 5.5%.

Also, Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) maintains that California is the Fraud Capital of America, with $32 billion in unemployment scams, “lost,” $24 billion in homeless funds, and $18 billion for a nonexistent bullet train.

As a result of all the above, people are fleeing the state in large numbers. In a stunning report, Storage Cafe reveals that California is the “undisputed leader in outbound migration nationwide, with nearly 683,000 residents leaving the state in a single year, according to the latest available U.S. Census data.” The evacuees’ top destination is Texas, which welcomed approximately 98,000 former Californians in 2023 alone.

Millennials are leading the migration to Texas, making up over 31% of all movers. They are followed by Gen Zers, who constitute 20%, and Gen Xers, who account for nearly 15% of those relocating. Interestingly, Californians moving to the Lone Star State tend to earn more than the national average across most age groups, highlighting the financial advantage of the move.

High taxes are affecting Silicon Valley. Tech giant Google is relocating many of its operations elsewhere, and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have purchased a $170 million estate in South Florida. Larry Ellison, co-founder of software giant Oracle, moved to Florida in 2022.

Additionally, venture capitalist Peter Thiel recently announced that he had opened an office for his family investment firm in Miami, and iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg has moved to New York City.

California has also passed several laws that negatively affect families. In 2024, California enacted AB 1955, known as the “Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act.” This law explicitly bans schools from implementing policies that require disclosing “any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person—including parents—without the student’s consent.”

But on March 2, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parents have federal constitutional rights to be informed when their children socially transition or express gender nonconformity at school.

“California’s policies … substantially interfere with the right of parents to guide the religious development of their children,” says the court’s unsigned majority opinion in Mirabelli v. Bonta.

The court added, “Gender dysphoria is a condition that has an important bearing on a child’s mental health, but when a child exhibits symptoms of gender dysphoria at school, California’s policies conceal that information from parents and facilitate a degree of gender transitioning during school hours. These policies likely violate parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children.”

Unsurprisingly, the decision was met with contempt by inept California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who absurdly told the New York Post, “Teachers should be focused on teaching—not forced to be gender cops.”

Newsom also criticized Israel recently for being an “apartheid” state, and launched a blistering attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Instead of acknowledging the many mistakes made by the state, Newsom recently announced plans to spend $19 million on promoting California and dispelling “myths driven by misinformation and political rhetoric” in a marketing campaign that will continue through the final months of his administration as the term-limited governor considers a potential run for president in 2028.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development is “seeking a contractor to design a statewide taxpayer-funded ‘California Brand Campaign,’ with two-thirds of spending under the proposal to be used for paid advertising and media placements.” Bidding on the contract opened on Feb. 24 and is expected to end in mid-March.

With California’s current policies and leadership, the spin doctors will be working overtime trying to put lipstick on the proverbial pig.

Finally, California school districts face many challenges, and teachers’ unions’ demands are exacerbating the state’s problems. I will explore these topics in a future post.

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Larry Sand is a retired 28-year classroom teacher who served as president of the nonprofit California Teachers Empowerment Network from 2006 to 2025. He now focuses on raising awareness of our failing education system.