The Billionaire Who Made California Unaffordable

For years, Tom Steyer has used his money to push awful policies on the state. Now, he wants to run it.

By Allysia Finley. Excerpts:

"He and his wealthy liberal friends are also in large part to blame. They’ve pushed destructive climate, tax and regulatory policies that have made the state uninhabitable for most businesses and for people who live paycheck to paycheck."

"In 2010 Mr. Steyer used his hedge-fund fortune . . . to bankroll opposition to a ballot measure (Prop. 23) that would have repealed the state’s climate law AB32, which established a cap-and-tax program and standards for low-carbon fuel and renewable electricity. Prop. 23 failed in no small part thanks to Mr. Steyer’s moneybags."

"Mr. Steyer now laments in his launch video that “we have the second highest electricity rates in the country.”"

"The state’s climate policies that he campaigned for drove energy prices into the stratosphere."

"California’s electricity rates are now about 80% higher than the national average, compared with 25% in 2010. Californians pay about $1.40 more for a gallon of gasoline than the national average, up from a $0.30 premium 15 years ago."

"the state has lost about 30,000 [manufacturing jobs] since 2010, while the U.S. has added roughly 1.2 million." 

 "In 2012 Mr. Steyer championed a ballot initiative that ensured that businesses that fled California could no longer hide from the Sacramento tax man. The referendum requires companies to pay the state’s 8.84% corporate tax based on their share of sales in the state. If 20% of a company’s sales come from California, it has to pay California tax on 20% of its profits."

"The state’s average weekly wages have increased 20.8% since January 2020, compared with 28.6% nationwide."