The state of California is one of the most beautiful states in the union — scenery-wise, anyway. Spectacular mountains, awe-inspiring shorelines, endless forests — it’s got every imaginable vista.
The state also has nearly 40 million people. What it doesn’t have is much of anything anyone from Texas would want. And that has given California politicians like Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed a massive inferiority complex. There is now a feud between Texas and California. Texas Governor Gregg Abbott may poke some fun at California, but the Californians aren’t laughing. In fact, they’ve become downright nasty.
Evidence for this is in a billboard spotted along California highways placed by an unknown source. But the message is clear.
Newsweek:
Nearly 250,000 residents have left California between 2020 and 2021, mostly because of lack of affordability. Almost one-third of those are moving to Texas, according to U.S. Census data.
But the billboards caution residents against moving to Texas, including messages like “Don’t move to Texas” and “The Texas miracle died in Uvalde,” referring to the deadly school shooting at Robb Elementary School in May. NBC reported that the billboards are leased to advertisers by Foxpoint Media, which is based in Chicago.
San Jose State University public relations professor Matt Cabot told NBC that referencing Uvalde in the billboard was bad judgment.
“This is the lowest of the low. It’s bizarre. It’s amateurish,” he said.
Billboards warn Californians not to move to Texas with grim message: ‘The Texas miracle died in Uvalde’ https://t.co/Yy6iihbIDo
— Shannon Staats (@congresssux) August 25, 2022
The billboard was probably not put up by a prominent politician like Newsom or Breed. But Newsom’s criticisms of both Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis make one wonder just how low they would stoop to try and make Abbott look bad to California residents.
Newsom ran a series of full-page ads in Texas dailies earlier this year criticizing Abbott, while Abbott countered by inviting more California businesses to come to Texas.
Also read: California Is Officially a S***hole Country
The bottom line is that California is bleeding population and businesses. To staunch the flow, there might be a surreptitious effort to drag Texas and Abbott through the mud.
It probably won’t work and may even backfire.
According to Texas Monthly, about 700,000 Californians have moved to Texas since 2010. Several reports show Texas is the state Californians are most likely to move to and often settle in cities like Dallas, Austin and Houston.
Lack of affordability is the biggest push behind Golden State residents’ desire to move. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that the living wage for an adult with a child in California is nearly $84,000. In Texas, it’s less than $60,000.
With both Gavin Newsom and Greg Abbott contemplating presidential runs, it will be interesting to follow their progress with Newsom campaigning in Texas and Abbott in California.
