CNN's Fareed Zakaria delivered one of the most brutal takedowns of California, arguing that the state has become a prime example of how Democrats' favored approach of higher taxes and greater government spending is not, in itself, a solution to societal or political problems. It still takes good policy to produce results.
Primarily, he blasted the state for spending nearly $4,000 more per taxpayer than it did in 2000 and still struggling to fix its housing crisis, homelessness crisis, education crisis, and jobs crisis.
In trying to solve the state's issues, he said, all California has reliably managed to do is make life more difficult for its ordinary residents.
💥NEW: CNN’s Fareed Zakaria *DELIVERS BRUTAL TAKEDOWN* of California’s “FAILING MODEL OF GOVERNANCE”💥
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) June 14, 2026
“The frustration is real and JUSTIFIED… it is a case study in how a rich society can spend more and more — while producing less and less of what its ordinary citizens need.” pic.twitter.com/ZkirZH1kZx
"The frustration is real and justified," Zakaria said. "California is one of the most dynamic places on the planet. It has Silicon Valley, Hollywood, world-class universities, extraordinary agriculture, ports, talent, and natural beauty. But it is a case study in how a rich society can spend more and more while producing less and less of what its ordinary citizens need. The paradox of California today is a successful economy attached to a failing model of governance."
He went on to say that while the state's population has grown by only 15 percent since the dawn of the new millennium, government spending has increased by more than 200 percent. Yet you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes the state has improved by 200 percent in any meaningful measure over that same period.
There continues to be a housing shortage that the state's Democrats blame on corporations and a lack of rent control, even as California's chronic undersupply of housing, restrictive zoning laws, and endless regulations remain largely untouched. The state spends increasingly more on education and yet continues to produce worse results, pours more and more money into homelessness programs as the crisis becomes ever more visible, and despite being home to the world's fourth-largest economy, often succeeds in spite of its government. For a state blessed with Silicon Valley, San Francisco, one of America's financial capitals, and Hollywood, California should be an economic juggernaut. The fact that its job creation continues to lag is almost a feat in itself.
In other words, the Golden State has become a test case challenging a core belief of the Democratic Party: that simply spending more money on a problem will solve it.
The state is living, even dying proof that this is not the case and yet Democrats still refuse to catch on.
This comes as Californians have an opportunity to vote for change in November, as Republican Steve Hilton advanced to the state’s general election last week alongside “Gavin Newsom 2.0,” Xavier Becerra. It remains unlikely he will shift the state’s progressive Democratic electorate, though that hasn’t stopped him from trying.
The state has still produced some of the most powerful Republican candidates in recent years, including Spencer Pratt, who failed in his bid for Los Angeles mayor. However, last week he vowed that his fight against the city’s political establishment is not over, declaring war on the city’s progressive leadership.