[New American] The 1960s folk group The Mamas and the Papas used their harmonious voices in the song, "California Dreamin’" ‐ a time when the Golden State was still seen as a destination point by many Americans, attracted by its mild weather, its beautiful beaches, and its dynamic economy.But now, a January poll by Edelman Intelligence reveals that many of California’s own residents now regard it as "California Nightmare." Fifty-three percent of 1,500 residents polled have said that they are considering leaving the state. This is in stark contrast to the days of the Great Depression, when hundreds of thousands of Americans from other states, seeking to escape the twin terrors of poverty and the Dust Bowl made their way to California. An estimated one million left Oklahoma alone ‐ thus the name "Okies" came to be applied to many of the migrants. So many "Okies" moved to Bakersfield, it was facetiously referred to as the "third largest town in Oklahoma."
About 62 percent of those polled said they believe that the best days of California are now over.
What caused such despair? The reasons are multiple. Seventy-two percent polled said that the high "cost and availability of housing is a very serious issue for California." Heavy-handed environmental regulations are a huge contributing factor to the increased cost of housing, with high property taxes as another. When one just records the responses in the Bay Area, that number rises to 76 percent. Some of these Bay Area residents leave San Francisco, Oakland, and other cities and move to other parts of California, but others opt to simply leave the state.
When one wonders why Texas has become less of a "red," or Republican state ‐ with the powerful example of the 2018 senatorial election, in which Republican Senator Ted Cruz eked out a victory over Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke by less than three percent ‐ part of the answer is that Texas is a popular destination for these Bay Area emigrants. While they are attempting to escape the heavy taxation of California, particularly the area in and around San Francisco, they often take the liberal politics of the region with them when they move.
And there are other factors that are contributing to the exodus, and the consideration by others of joining the move out of the state. San Francisco has now earned the reputation of the city with piles of human excrement on its streets, with some people even defecating in front of residents' homes. In 2015, there were over 60,000 complaints about this problem reported to police. Drug use is such a problem that free syringes are now made available to drug addicts by the city. Crime is rampant, including car burglaries ‐ an average of 85 a day. Panhandling is ubiquitous.