Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
As Inflation Keeps Hitting Pocketbooks, Newsom Scrambles for Answers
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 3 months ago on
August 22, 2024

As inflation squeezes Californians, politicians from the White House to Sacramento scramble to address economic anxieties. (CalMatters/Larry Valenzuela)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Thirty-two years ago, as then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton was trying to unseat President H.W. Bush, Clinton strategist James Carville summarized the campaign in four immortal words, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Dan Walters Profile Picture

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

Clinton successfully portrayed Bush as someone out of touch with the angst voters felt as they stretched their incomes to cover living costs and debts.

If anything, the economic discomfort is even higher in this election year, particularly from high inflation in recent years. And politicians from the White House level downward are paying attention to a potentially decisive factor.

It explains, for instance, why Vice President Kamala Harris is promising a price-gouging ban on food costs if she wins the presidency.

“It’s an attempt to tackle a clear vulnerability of Harris’ head-on,” according to an analysis by the Associated Press. “Under the Biden-Harris administration, grocery prices have shot up 21%, part of an inflation surge that has raised overall costs by about 19% and soured many Americans on the economy, even as unemployment fell to historic lows.”

Residents of Harris’ home state are certainly not immune.

“Food prices are up 27% compared to April 2019, and gasoline is up 29%,” the Public Policy Institute of California noted in a May report. “While expenditures on these goods and services make up large portions of most household budgets, lower-income households spend almost all of their resources (83%) on food, housing, transportation (including gasoline), and health care.”

California’s High Cost of Living

The California Center for Jobs and the Economy reports that Californians are now paying the nation’s highest rates for household, commercial and industrial electrical power and gasoline.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s consumer advocate reports that over the last decade, electricity rates have increased 110% for Pacific Gas and Electric customers and only slightly less for ratepayers in other investor-owned utilities.

California housing costs are notoriously among the nation’s highest. Its median home price of $793,600 is by the highest of any state and almost exactly twice as high as the national median according to a recent Bankrate report. Its median rent for a two-bedroom apartment, $1,903 a month, is also the nation’s highest, according to a survey by Consumer Affairs, a consumer research site.

California is fundamentally a one-party state and dominant Democrats needn’t worry about losing offices due to inflation. However, they must at least feign sympathy for their constituents who struggle to pay for necessities of life.

Will Newsom Lower Utility Bills?

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has been preoccupied with building his national political image, is apparently planning to seek approval of an electric power relief plan in the final days of the current legislative session.

The Sacramento Bee reports that Newsom wants to commit roughly a billion dollars to lowering power bills, but doesn’t want to tap the state’s deficit-ridden budget. Rather, he would divert money now being spent on some ancillary programs, and attach it to a measure aimed at speeding up non-polluting energy projects, such as offshore wind, that’s being drafted for passage before adjourning Aug. 31.

As word of Newsom’s plan circulates in the Capitol, it’s drawing fire from advocates for the programs that would be axed, such as air conditioning for schools, improving power reliability in poor communities, and installing solar power panels on low-income housing projects.

A coalition of renewable energy, environmental and groups this week sent a letter to Newsom and legislative leaders opposing any diversions.

“Cutting them would provide negligible reductions on energy bills in the short-term, while sacrificing the long-term climate and affordability benefits they provide,” the coalition said.

It shapes up as a yeasty confrontation between competing causes in the session’s final days.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more columns by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

Make Your Voice Heard

GV Wire encourages vigorous debate from people and organizations on local, state, and national issues. Submit your op-ed to bmcewen@gvwire.com for consideration.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

DON'T MISS

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

DON'T MISS

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

DON'T MISS

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

DON'T MISS

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

DON'T MISS

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

DON'T MISS

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

DON'T MISS

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

DON'T MISS

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

UP NEXT

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

UP NEXT

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

UP NEXT

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

UP NEXT

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

UP NEXT

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

UP NEXT

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

UP NEXT

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

UP NEXT

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

UP NEXT

US Says It Will Not Limit Israel Arms Transfers After Some Improvements in Flow of Aid to Gaza

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

9 hours ago

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

9 hours ago

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

10 hours ago

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

10 hours ago

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

10 hours ago

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

10 hours ago

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

10 hours ago

US Says It Will Not Limit Israel Arms Transfers After Some Improvements in Flow of Aid to Gaza

10 hours ago

Who With Valley Ties Could Land Spots in the Trump Administration?

11 hours ago

Tulare Gang Member Gets Life Without Parole for 2022 Murders

12 hours ago

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “D...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

9 hours ago

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

9 hours ago

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

9 hours ago

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

9 hours ago

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

10 hours ago

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

A Fresno County man has been indicted on mail fraud charges for allegedly submitting over $300,000 in falsified disability claims using stolen identities. (GV Wire File)
10 hours ago

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP File)
10 hours ago

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

Search

Send this to a friend