J. L'Angelle
Univ of Nevada, Reno
Fall 2019
(KB, Lake Tahoe)-- Gavin Newsom, the new California governor, just signed legislation that requires candidates for US president to release tax forms, which the current President has steadfastly refused to do;
“ 'As one of the largest economies in the world and home to one in nine Americans eligible to vote, California has a special responsibility to require this information of presidential and gubernatorial candidates,' Newsom said." (The Guardian)
In retaliation, the President followed a predictable pattern of reprisal by hurling insults, this time not at a "squad" of newcomer congresswomen, not at an eastern seaboard city, but at an entire state, California;
“Look at Los Angeles with the tents, and the horrible, horrible disgusting conditions. Look at San Francisco, look at some of your other cities.” (SJ Mercury)
Other cities the President must be referring to are ones like Paradise, that went up in a fireball late last summer, forcing thousands to live in tents at nearby Wal Marts, having lost everything, many including their pets. (USA Today) As he calls it, a "disgrace."
Just a few weeks ago, the President offered aid in the aftershock of a series of earthquakes that struck the central eastern part of the state;
"LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on earthquakes in Southern California (all times local):
8:15 p.m. President Donald Trump has declared an emergency for California after two major earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks.
Monday’s declaration paves the way for federal aid to help those hard-hit by the quakes.
The declaration authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts in Kern and San Bernardino counties. " (KUSI/SD)
Policy seems to shift with the sands out on the desert at Ridgecrest but one thing remains for certain, the economic contribution to the Gross Domestic Product by the state of California.
"SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California’s economy has surpassed that of the United Kingdom to become the world’s fifth largest, according to new federal data made public Friday.
California’s gross domestic product rose by $127 billion from 2016 to 2017, surpassing $2.7 trillion, the data said. Meanwhile, the UK’s economic output slightly shrunk over that time when measured in U.S. dollars, due in part to exchange rate fluctuations." (Jonathan Cooper, AP/USA Today)
Political capital might mean a great deal to the President when he badmouths the Left Coast at a Cincinnati rally, but economic capital is what runs the federal budget although it doesn't seem to matter much if he has the opportunity to trash yet another American icon, whether it be a congressional rep, a city, or now, a state.
Works Cited
Taxes, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/30/california-governor-signs-law-that-would-require-trump-to-release-tax-returns
Diamond, J., CNN via SJ Merc, Tents, https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/02/trump-california-a-disgrace-to-our-country/
Fireball, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/11/paradise-california-population-camp-fire-california-wildfire-fund/1710525001/
Tent city photo, Sacramento Bee.
Quake, https://www.kusi.com/president-trump-declares-emergency-for-ca-after-recent-earthquakes/
Cooper, J., Economy, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/05/05/california-now-worlds-5th-largest-economy-beating-out-uk/583508002/
GDP, https://apps.bea.gov/itable/drilldown.cfm?reqid=70&stepnum=40&Major_Area=3&State=06000&Area=XX&TableId=526&Statistic=2&Year=2019:Q1&YearBegin=-1&Year_End=-1&Unit_Of_Measure=Levels&Rank=1&Drill=1&nRange=5