While Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis faced off in late November over who was the best governor of the best-run state, the decision was made long before the two took the stage. That's being illustrated again with California's latest self-destructive move.
(Also see: Further Proof Things in San Francisco Have Gotten 'Back to Normal' Since All the Dignitaries Left)
Amidst a record $68 billion budget deficit, Newsom and his fellow Democrats are pushing forward with a plan to provide free healthcare to illegal immigrants.
Cash-strapped California will ring in the new year by offering free health care to all undocumented immigrants who qualify for the state’s government-run health insurance program.
The state, which faces a $68 billion deficit in the next fiscal year, has been steadily expanding access to its Medi-Cal health insurance program for low-income residents, allowing undocumented children to qualify for the taxpayer-funded program in 2015, then expanding it under Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to cover undocumented adults between the ages of 19-25 and those over 50.
On Jan. 1, California will become the first state to offer free health care to all qualifying individuals — regardless of immigration status or age.
For comparison, over in the Sunshine State, DeSantis is running a surplus and has paid off more than $5 billion of previously accrued debt. Meanwhile, in California, they are doubling down on financial ruin, expanding Medi-Cal, a program that is already completely unsustainable.
Why would Newsom do that? The answer is that there are no consequences for him when it inevitably fails. California went on a spending binge following a deluge of COVID-19 "aid" being shoveled into the state, and the leadership there has the full expectation that the federal government will give them more cash when they need it. That's one of the key differences between Newsom and DeSantis. The former has built a house of cards while the latter governed like an adult.
So again, is there really a contest between a floundering state running a $68 billion deficit and a state that has set itself up to not only provide the services its residents need but to do so while maintaining long-term financial stability? I would say that there isn't. There's a reason DeSantis wiped the floor with Newsom in the aforementioned debate, and it's not because DeSantis is a superior public speaker (though, he doesn't get nearly enough credit for his ability to think on his toes).
Of course, Newsom is taking the path far-left leaders always take. It's the same path the socialist regime in Argentina followed, constantly doubling down on deficit spending and an ever-expanding welfare state. What happened? Hyperinflation sent the nation into economic ruin. California is already more expensive to live in than any other state when considering all the factors, and you can expect that issue to get worse.
There will be no course correction, though. For Democrats, politics isn't a contemplation of risks and rewards in light of reality. Rather, it's their entire moral basis. That's perverse given a secular government should never operate as such, but for Newsom and company, they see giving free healthcare to illegal immigrants as a moral imperative, the consequences be damned, and to be sure, the consequences are not only coming for them, they've already arrived in some ways. Buckle up if you live in California.