Gov. Gavin Newsom, awash in federally-issued, inflation-inducing COVID-19 American greenbacks, will take billions of them, stuff them into his cash cannon, and shoot them all over California.
By his design, Californians will get this cash money just in time for the November elections, as Newsom hopes to curry favor with angry voters. Democrats ardently hope that enough voters will send back their thank-you ballots to keep them in their supermajority so they can continue ruining the Golden State.
People still on the state’s polluted voting rolls, abortion tourists, and illegal aliens who currently flood the state may be in line for an undeserved payday with all the cash. Who knows? Maybe prisoners will once again get their share of Newsom’s COVID money.
Related: West Coast, Messed Coast™ Governors Declare ‘Abortion Offensive’ After Dobbs Decision
This unspent COVID cash is a testament to how ethically bankrupt the California Democrats are. If they weren’t going to give it back, they should pay down debt — like the trillion in unfunded pension liability. Or, they could have used the money to shore up the state’s electrical grid, build reservoirs, and spare working Californians those huge gas taxes. Instead, the Democrats will let another gas tax increase go into effect on July 1.
Here comes the cash cannon. pic.twitter.com/R3N5YLXHF0
— Victoria Taft, The Adult in the Room (@VictoriaTaft) June 28, 2022
But ensuring the essentials for a well-functioning economy, such as cheaper gas, more plentiful energy, and water in that desert oasis isn’t as much fun as firing the cash cannon.
The Wall Street Journal lays out the payoff scheme. “The Golden State has a $100 billion budget surplus thanks to federal largesse in the 2021 Covid bill and booming capital-gains revenue. … Individuals making up to $75,000 will get $350 each, plus another $350 per dependent, for a maximum of $1,050 per family,” the Journal reports. “Checks shrink to $250 for individuals making up to $125,000 and $200 for those with incomes up to $250,000.” Families earning up to $500,000 will not get a payoff from Newsom.
The governor calls it a middle-class program.
My daughter texted me the minute this bribe was announced. She sent me a screenshot of the news story with the words, “What in the actual heck?!!! Have we learned nothing?!” The message was accompanied by emojis of a woman covering her face with her hand and, one of my personal favorites, a gif of Elmo pictured against a wall of flames, arms helplessly reaching for the sky.
In answer to my daughter: No, they have learned nothing except that giving people walking-around cash money at election time apparently works.
Taxpayers are screwed. They’ll still have to pay for the state’s wrongheaded green policies as an homage to the climate cult and will also pay the increased prices this inflation-inducing cash creates.
One keen commenter over at the WSJ did some noodling and noticed the governor’s math was off. Big surprise. “A surplus of $100 billion divided equally among California’s 40 million residents would be $2,500 per resident They are returning up to $350 per person. Where is the other $2,150 surplus going to?”
Where indeed.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member