With Mike Morrell: The Effects of Progressivism Part 4

ALL>> One of the most observable effects of progressivism is its direct impact on communities and neighborhoods and the people who live in them. As taxes rise, so does the cost of living, forcing individuals and families to choose between staying put in a place they know while barely making ends meet and seeking out a new home in an unfamiliar place while building a better quality of life. We have seen this dilemma bear out in Greece. Since 2008, nearly half a million people have left their home country in search of economic opportunity elsewhere. With high taxes that push prices on necessities even higher, they have had little choice but to leave. Young adults have especially been affected as they face an unemployment rate of 50 percent. Their leaving has caused what economists term a “brain drain” – the outward migration of their nation’s best and brightest – making the prospect of a full economic recovery all the more difficult. Greece’s outlook also rings true here. The media has recently chronicled how high taxes and a high cost-of-living have pushed more people to leave the state. In 2015, California saw 61,100 more people leave the state than come here. A poll by the Bay Area Council also found that one in three residents of the San Francisco Bay Area would like to leave the region in the near future. Those packing up are not all wealthy Silicon Valley types. These individuals make respectable incomes and would elsewhere be considered middle class, but in the Bay Area they are struggling to stretch their hard-earned money. Whether it is Greece or California, it all comes down to the same thing: people will do whatever they can, including move, to keep more of what they earn to invest in their futures and the futures of their families. Many people come to America to build a life empowered by freedom and the promise that they can achieve anything. Bureaucratic, progressive policies, however, discourage the entrepreneur and the family. This summer, the Cato Institute published its 2016 index of the freest states in the country. California ranked No. 49 when it comes to economic freedom, meaning people have fewer options on how to best use their money and make it go farther for the things they need and want. These are the realities that confront us, but progressivism is typically quick to hide behind the façade of politically correct speech. As a result, many do not speak out for fear of being labeled “intolerant.” Phrases like ‘‘pay your fair share’’ try to make people feel selfish or uncaring, when in reality, inequality is created by taking away from one group to give to another, instead of trying to raise all others up through providing a quality education and opportunity for all. President Reagan once said, “We who live in free market societies believe that growth, prosperity and ultimately human fulfillment, are created from the bottom up, not the government down.” In California, it can sometimes feel like the opposite. The work we have ahead of us is to instead take our state in the other direction – one that empowers the individual to chart his or her own course while maximizing their potential for success and achievement. Senator Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga, represents the 23rd District in the State Senate which includes portions of Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.