In The Future of the American City Is This..., you read about Your Survival Guy's recent trip to Rome and Paris and the optimistic view of what America's cities could become if they avoid the pitfall of becoming "vacant canyons of office buildings." San Francisco has not avoided the pitfalls. Residents are leaving fast, especially those high-earning tech workers who populated the city's office buildings and spent their money freely in its stores and restaurants. Giulia Carbonaro describes San Francisco's current plight in Newsweek, writing: Struggling with rampant homelessness, a drug … [Read more...]
HOUSING CRISIS: California Could Face Mortgage Default Tsunami
At CNN Yuliya Panfil and Dona Stewart describe a mortgage crisis that could soon hit California's middle-class homeowners, and they make a long case that the fault lies with climate change and greedy insurance companies who want to actually get paid for providing a service. But as Your Survival Guy explained recently, California's laws are really at fault, driving insurance companies into unprofitability and a predictable exit from the state. Panfil and Stewart write: Last month, insurance giant State Farm (California’s largest insurer) announced it would not issue any new homeowner … [Read more...]
Is Your Blue City Stuck in a “Doom Loop?”
You know that big blue city politicians have demanded ever higher taxation while providing fewer services, like policing, to their constituents. Now streets of cities like San Francisco are filled with the homeless and drug addicted, and stores and offices are under siege by criminals. Josh Koehn and Kevin Truong of The San Francisco Standard have dubbed the city's current status a "doom loop." They write: The loss of businesses and in-office workers since the pandemic has kneecapped the flow of tax revenue to City Hall, and foot traffic to small businesses in the area has evaporated. San … [Read more...]
Welcome to Hotel California, Where You Can Never Leave
Leave it to California to sap the wealth from the successful. You can add New York, Illinois, Maryland, Hawaii, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Washington to the list too. You know from my Super States ranking where your money will be treated with more respect than it is by these money grabbers. I’ve never been a fan of letting taxes wag the dog but what we’re seeing is more than taxes, it’s about taking away your freedom. Now politicians in California want to emulate the famous Eagles tune, "Hotel California," and not allow even those who leave the state to escape its draconian … [Read more...]
LA EMERGENCY: New Mayor Declares Homeless Emergency
The new mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, has declared a "state of emergency" in order to fight the city's homelessness problem, which now affects an estimated 40,000 people. The emergency powers Bass will control allow her to cut through the city's red tape and make it easier to build housing, and rent more space for sheltering the homeless. The Pasadena Star-News reports: As her first act as mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass on Monday, Dec. 12, declared a state of emergency on homelessness, delivering on a promise she made on the campaign trail to treat the city’s homeless situation – which … [Read more...]
CALIFORNIA: Buy an Electric Car, but Don’t Charge It
Californians recently received a harsh lesson in the failures of big government—as if they needed one. First, the California Air Resources Board voted to require all new cars and light trucks sold after 2035 to be "zero-emission" vehicles. Effectively that means Californians will be forced to buy electric vehicles. Russ Mitchell reported in the LA Times: Citing an urgent need to address climate change while cutting back on air pollution, the California Air Resources Board voted Thursday to require all new cars and light trucks sold by 2035 to be what it calls zero-emission vehicles. Lauren … [Read more...]
WATCH: California Gov. Gavin Newsom Does NOT Want You to See This
If you've been reading Your Survival Guy, you've seen some of the terrible things going on in California lately. Here's a brief sample: California’s Crime Monster Is OUT OF CONTROL The Zombies of San Francisco LA LAWLESS: Police FINALLY Shut Down Street Takeover After Another Sparks Riot STREETS OF RAGE: Americans Can’t Forget the Crime Democrats Unleashed Police Widow Blames Soros-Funded DA for Husband’s Death 80 Year Old California Shop Owner Shoots Rifle-Wielding Intruder’s Arm Off WOKE WORLD: Getting a Cup of Joe Has Never Been So Dangerous SMASH AND GRAB: Video … [Read more...]
California Politicians Banning Gas Stations, For Who?
Gasoline is one of the most important things Americans buy each week. Access and competition are what make gasoline purchases fast and inexpensive. Now California politicians are banning new gas stations in an effort to achieve their green dreams by taking away one of the most essential commodities Americans buy. Grace Toohey reports for Yahoo! Finance: Without realizing they were starting a movement in green energy policy, leaders of a small Sonoma County city seem to have done just that when they questioned the approval process for a new gas station — eventually halting its development and … [Read more...]
These Democrat Run Cities Have Lost Nearly a DECADE of Growth
After years of draconian Covid lockdowns and the highest crime rates in decades, cities are witnessing an ongoing exodus. According to The Wall Street Journal’s Paul Overberg and Janet Adamy, in the year ended July 31, 2021, “San Francisco’s population fell 6.3%, a loss of 55,000 people.” And, they continue, “It and Chicago have lost so many people that their populations have fallen close to their 2010 levels.” It wasn’t just San Francisco and Chicago that lost residents. Matt Murray writes for The WSJ: People kept leaving U.S. cities as the pandemic dragged on. The exodus to suburbs and … [Read more...]
Escape NYC “High-Rise Hell”
No way I'm heading to NYC. Check this out. And consider the big-name residents all over the city selling. Karen Zraick and Ashley Wong report for the New York Times: When it was completed in 1931, the City Bank-Farmers Trust Company Building towered over the financial district as one of the tallest buildings in New York City. It was, in fact, the tallest with a stone-clad facade, which featured 14 Assyrian-style busts, called “giants of finance,” watching over the narrow streets from their perch on the 19th floor. Replicas of coins from around the world adorned the entrance, representing … [Read more...]