Don's Tuesday Column

        THE WAY I SEE IT   by Don Polson   Red Bluff Daily News   2/27/2024

A “Roundup” of interesting things

There’s a Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” “Interesting” also describes life’s events that are benign, even delightful.

Our interesting and delightful things involve alpine skiing on Mount Bachelor in Bend, Oregon. Life for many in California describes the Chinese curse every day, all the time, everywhere.

Red Bluff is a friendly town with open, caring people. Hence the story of Riley Lopez and the people who made a short life better, and whose lives were touched thereby. Would that such a thing can define Red Bluff decades from now.

We value the friendly atmosphere found at our Bachelor ski resort. The atmosphere in the lines, on the chairlifts, and even interactions in the parking lots, is convivial. Locals are easy to talk to about their jobs and families; visitors come from in-state and out-of-state and are happy to share their stories on the chair lift for 7 to 10 minutes, followed by a cheery “have fun” and “stay safe.”

We didn’t find such openness at the Tahoe area resorts, where if you didn’t already know someone, there wasn’t much conversation. Small towns vs. megalopolises; we know where we prefer to live.

Alternatively, you have the “interesting-as-curse” conditions in our not-so-fair state. A symptom of that is the out-migration of people, jobs, businesses, and high-income earners to “red” states. The last time I checked, the cost of a moving van to leave California is up to three times what that same van would cost to move to this state. That’s called supply and demand, where the demand to leave is that much greater the demand to come here.

Someone might ask “Why?” It’s not hard to find the “interesting” things causing it. Just look at your electric bill where the base rate has gone up to 42 cents per kilowatt/hour—that’s almost four times what it was not that long ago, and about 127 percent higher over 10 years. Again, our rate in Bend is about 7 cents/kwh plus a monthly fee.

The state’s woes cannot be fathomed without accepting that Sacramento Democrats that run California are somewhere between socialists and communists on the spectrum. Hence, when income from said exorbitant electric rates still falls short of what they need to further their delusional pipe dreams of “renewable” solar and wind power, they’ve come up with a “progressive” tool to extract more money from wealthy ratepayers.

They’ll apparently determine someone’s wealth; then if you qualify as “wealthy,” you pay an additional “fee,” otherwise known as a tax. So, it’s not enough that your “wealthy” lifestyle uses more electricity and you pay more that way. It’s like if you can afford a high-priced car, and pay the high sales tax and registration, as well as the likely higher gas taxes from owning a “gas hog”—but you’ll still have to pay an additional fee for being wealthy.

What can go wrong as California’s out-migration of taxpayers gets replaced by hordes of illegal aliens shifting to the softer borders of our state, from the toughened Texas border? These aren’t like past waves of legal immigrants put to song in “They’re coming to America,” by Neil Diamond. No, they are coming for what’s freely given by the “open borders” socialist Democrats, because it’s not their money.

They’re coming from countries that don’t wish America well; they send the detritus and rejects who, having violated our sovereign borders, are both ignorant of and uninterested in following our laws. “Dozens of Chinese migrants spotted entering US illegally in California border town of Jacumba say they’re here to ‘take the money’ along with others from Syria and Turkey,” (www.dailymail.co.uk).

Maybe those leaving with their wealth and incomes see the likely end result when reading the headline: “Only Gavin Newsom Could Turn a $97 Billion Record Surplus Into a $73 Billion Deficit in Under Two Years” (redstate.com). We all know that there is no limiting principle to the redistributionist mindset that pervades Democrats’ grand schemes to “transform” America, beginning with California.

Maybe those looking to leave see the anti-gun handwriting on the wall as the 9^th Circuit Appellate Court refused a full review of a law banning youth shooting sports. They may have a talented child that wants to compete in a shooting competition. It was deemed unconstitutional by a lower court; it’ll be found so by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson had this to say upon President Joe Biden’s fundraising tour here: “Today, Joe Biden begins yet another swing through California where he will collect campaign cash instead of taking stock of how Democrat policies are hurting Americans.

“California has become a dumping ground for radical, far-left policies that have led to an affordability crisis, open borders, brazen crime, rampant homelessness and failing schools. From Biden to his wannabe-replacement Gavin Newsom, today’s Democrat Party has failed Californians.”

Finally, a stark reminder of our Governor’s duplicitous psycho-warfare: “Newsom Blames Republicans After Border Patrol Releases Hundreds of Illegal Aliens In San Diego” (townhall.com). What a fiend.