Aggressively Unaccountable
What to Know: California Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for “more aggressive action” on homelessness, which has reached crisis levels in his state.
The TPPF Take: What’s hamstringing California’s efforts to combat homelessness—at the state and local levels—is the continued investment in a failed, one-size-fits-all policy called Housing First.
“Since the state’s adoption of it in 2016, pre-COVID data illustrates that despite a 33% increase in permanent housing units dedicated to the homeless, there was 47.1% rise in the state’s unsheltered homeless population. If housing alone were the solution to homelessness, the unsheltered homeless population would have declined. Regardless, Newsom remains wedded to its narrative,” says TPPF’s Michele Steeb. “Until Newsom reforms California’s policy response to homelessness—to which local governments are beholden given the amount of funding the state is providing—California’s homelessness crisis will continue to grow, no matter how many billions he tosses at them.”
For more on homelessness in California, click here.
Victims of Communism Day
What to Know: Today, Nov. 7 is national Victims of Communism Day.
The TPPF Take: We know how bad communism is, so why do so many fall for its political promises and ignore its deadly history?
“From 87,000 new tax collectors to go after the middle class to an overbearing Department of Justice that prosecutes thought criminals and lets violent ones free, we’re quickly losing control of the administrative state—a true leviathan indeed,” says TPPF’s Austin Prochko. “As that leviathan collects more and more power, we may find ourselves unable to counter and forced to submit as it enforces a totalitarian, government-driven socialism—in other words, communism.”
For more on Victims of Communism Day, click here.
There’s a Reason
What to Know: Texas Monthly is wondering, “Why Is Ken Paxton Sending a Task Force to Monitor Harris County’s Elections?”
The TPPF Take: Harris County (which temporarily “lost” nearly 200,000 ballots in 2020, counting them despite a broken chain of custody) is already objecting to having state monitors. Is this to set up arguments for Tuesday night/Wednesday morning claiming that voter suppression swung the election?
“Texas Democrats never reflect on what they did wrong when they lose,” says TPPF’s Sherry Sylvester. “They never ask why Texans don’t vote for their big spending, anti-business, teacher-union backed, anti-fossil fuel candidates. Instead, many of them, particularly those in the media, will insist without evidence that Democrats were defeated by ‘voter suppression.’ They will ignore the fact that 85% of Texans, including a majority of Democrats, support election accountability reforms.”
For more on elections, click here.