… a scathing examination of the state’s politics and social decline.
Chronicles
“Fool’s Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All” was recently reviewed in Chronicles. The reviewer called it “a scathing examination of the state’s politics and social decline.”
Written by GAI Research Director Jedd McFatter and Susan Crabtree, a reporter with RealClearPolitics and also a GAI fellow, the book explores corruption by leading California politicians including Gov. Gavin Newsom, US Sen. Adam Schiff, and many others.
Reviewer Derek Parker wrote: “The authors of this book are well-suited for the task. Crabtree is the senior White House and national political correspondent for RealClear Politics, the popular news aggregation site. McFatter is the director of research at the respected Government Accountability Institute in Florida. Crabtree also spent part of her younger life in California, so she is a good judge of how much has changed since the time when the state was a magnet for artistic, energetic, and entrepreneurial people.”
The book debuted at the same time California was experiencing massive fires in the Los Angeles area that destroyed thousands of homes in Pacific Palisades and other communities. News reports quickly focused on the inadequacies of the state government’s response.
Parker’s review continued:
“These days, California is bleeding residents, and the exodus shows no sign of abating. Crabtree and McFatter track the myriad causes: spiraling lawlessness, soaring costs, blackouts and brownouts, collapsing infrastructure, crippling regulations, ever-escalating taxes, pervasive corruption, and a failing court system. The state that was once hailed as a model for the rest of America has become a place where nothing works—except the government’s PR machine. San Francisco, once a showcase city, has become infected with drugs, vandalism, and psychosis. In 2023, 28 percent of all the homeless people in America were in California, even though the state has only 12 percent of the national population.
“Crabtree and McFatter cite figures showing that violent crime has spun out of control under Newsom’s watch. In 2022, homicides jumped by 33.9 percent and aggravated assaults by 25.3 percent. Retail thefts skyrocketed to the point that many stores simply closed up and moved away.
Given the plummeting quality of life suggested by these trends, perhaps the most surprising thing is not that so many Californians have left, but that many others have not.