WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Gavin Newsom calls California mass exodus claims over high taxes ‘BS’

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) pushed back against “BS” claims that California is losing residents to other states in a mass exodus, though he acknowledged the state does need to address the housing crisis.

Newsom argued that 18% of the world’s research and development production takes place in his state, trailing only Germany and China. The governor also said California does 41% more manufacturing output than Texas, claiming the Lone Star State “tends to get a lot of credit” for its manufacturing and adding that “there’s a lot going right” with his state.

The governor then said 16 states tax their poorest residents more than California taxes its wealthiest.

“So this notion of even being a high-tax state is B.S.,” Newsom argued with Ezra Klein on his This Is Gavin Newsom podcast. “This notion that everyone’s leaving is complete BS. We dominate in so many of these categories because, I think, of our values. But we’re not building enough damn houses, and that’s led to this homeless crisis, not exclusively, as you said, but it’s contributed.”

The governor was also asked why it is easier to build houses in Texas compared to California, to which he responded that Houston has no zoning laws. He also said the “supply-demand imbalance” on housing is “next-level” because California is not building enough houses.

Newsom’s argument on businesses in California comes as he has sent roughly 100 leaders of California-based companies cellphones since November 2024, all of which have his direct line programmed into them. Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s communications director, told the Washington Examiner that it was the governor’s idea “ to connect more directly with business leaders.”

U.S. Census Bureau data released in December 2024 found that California was one of nine states where the population grew by over 100,000 people between 2023 and 2024, along with Florida, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, New York, Georgia, New Jersey, and Washington.