Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) claimed he is “a 960 SAT guy” to a crowd at a conference in Atlanta; that avowal is becoming more and more evident. While attending a South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, Newsom made the outlandish claim that Florida and Texas, not California, are “the real high-tax states.” This claim, alongside numerous other missteps, is coalescing into a deeply unfavorable public perception of the governor — and for justifiable reasons.
Newsom, who claims he is “burdened by the facts,” seems to be ignoring the most obvious ones in front of him now. Newsom’s assertion appears to draw from an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy study, an organization known to lean left, which identifies Florida as having the nation’s highest “tax inequality” — a metric measuring the disproportionate tax burden placed on low-income residents compared to the wealthy.
Newsom’s claims were met with immediate skepticism, with critics labeling his narrative as a misleading “statistical sleight of hand.” The comment sparked a response from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on X, where he said:
DeSantis commented and reposted a WalletHub analysis that ranked California fourth in the country in overall tax burden. Texas and Florida were near the bottom, at 40th and 45th, respectively, showing the truth behind Newsom’s false and misleading claims.
What’s even more troubling than California’s harsh tax laws is the rate at which people are fleeing the state. The Golden State has lost approximately 200,000 residents since the 2020 census, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
While a loss of 200,000 residents may seem incremental for a state of 39 million, the departure of ultra-high-net-worth individuals tells a more alarming story. When figures such as Google co-founder Larry Page, Uber founder Travis Kalanick, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — who represent a combined net worth of roughly $600 billion — shift their interests elsewhere, namely Florida and Texas, it becomes clear that critical tax revenue is fleeing the state alongside the population.
In 2024 alone, Florida led the country with approximately 574,000 new residents, while Texas closely followed with over 550,000 newcomers and sustained net gains throughout 2025.
In a move that underscored the frustration with California’s direction, Newsom’s own in-laws, Kenneth and Judy Siebel, famously relocated to Florida during the pandemic — a choice widely seen as an escape from Newsom’s poor COVID-19 management.
The once highly sought-after and prosperous state has now turned into a cesspool of debt and freeloaders profiting from the state’s plentiful unemployment assistance programs. Governors like Gavin Newsom are responsible for this; his policies have toppled the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Critics point to a mounting list of policy failures under Newsom’s leadership, ranging from a “Housing First” approach that saw over $37 billion spent while homelessness rates became the nation’s highest, to pandemic-era shutdowns that cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and allowed an estimated $33 billion in Employment Development Department fraud.
Furthermore, aggressive energy mandates have driven gasoline prices nearly $2.00 above the national average, while controversial labor regulations like California Assembly Bill 5 and criminal justice reforms like Propositions 47 and 57 are blamed for forcing independent contractors out of work and leaving California with a violent crime rate 51% higher than the national average.
As Newsom prepares for a potential 2028 presidential run, he faces a mounting list of political and policy vulnerabilities that his opponents are already beginning to weaponize.
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL: NEWSOM’S WORST NIGHTMARE IS REALIZED, AS ZUCKERBERG LEAVES CALIFORNIA
But the governor isn’t helping his case, as several of his comments made in the last few months have foreshadowed what his debates may look like.
One thing is for certain: California is now one of the least desirable states to move to, and Newsom has contributed greatly to the collapse of the once captivating state.