It’s been decades since California was the envy of America, with booming suburbs, world-class schools and a thriving middle class.

Last year, for instance, Donald Trump called California a “Paradise Lost,” blaming Democrat policies for turning the state into a “hellscape” — a cautionary tale of what happens when radical policies crush the very people who built it.

Let’s start with the facts…

Since 2010, an astonishing 8.5 million people have left California, with 690,000 exiting in 2023 alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. No other state comes close to this level of out-migration.

And these aren’t just retirees looking for a few tax breaks or remote workers looking for cheaper housing.

They’re middle-class families — people who work, pay taxes and try to get ahead — being driven out by a cost of living that’s spiraling out of control.

The numbers are brutal:

• The median home price in California is forecast to hit $909,400 in 2025, more than double the U.S. average.

• Gasoline? California drivers currently pay around $5.00 a gallon, compared to $3.00 nationwide, and experts warn prices could skyrocket to $8 by 2026.

• Electricity rates are just as punishing: At $0.30 per kilowatt-hour, Californians pay twice the national average.

Overall, the cost of living in California is 45–50% higher than the national average, with housing and utilities costs a respective 116% and 31% above the rest of the country.

Who can afford this? Especially when the average annual salary in the state is $68,917.

Your Rundown for Monday, June 2, 2025...

Billionaires, Paupers and the “Abundance Agenda”

If you’re wealthy, you can afford to stay for the weather and the views. And if you’re poor, California’s generous welfare programs offer a better deal than many states.

But if you’re in the middle — earning too much for government handouts but not enough to shrug off sky-high prices — California is a hostile environment.

And it’s not just prices…

Taxes in California are among the highest in the nation. The state income tax rate tops out at 12.3%; even middle-income earners face marginal rates of 8% or more.

Add in federal taxes, Social Security, Medicare and sales taxes (9.75% in Los Angeles County, for instance), and a middle-class family can see nearly half of every dollar earned go to the government.

Property taxes on a median-priced home in LA? That’s another $9,000 a year.

Meanwhile, Sacramento’s answer is to spend more — much more.

Per capita state government spending has more than doubled since 2010, with the 2025-26 budget at $322 billion, or $8,173 per resident — up from $4,696 in 2011 (adjusted for inflation).

Yet schools, crime, homelessness and affordability have all gotten worse.

Meanwhile, California’s over-regulated environment strangles small businesses and working families, all while claiming to fight for “equity” against the backdrop of a climate emergency.

The result? A quasi-feudal society of aristocrats and serfs, with the middle class squeezed out.

Enter the “abundance agenda” that some Democrats believe will save their party.

The groundwork for the agenda has been popularized by writers Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson in their 2025 bestseller Abundance.

Supporters of the agenda see it as a positive vision to fix America’s chronic shortfalls in housing, infrastructure and energy by streamlining regulations and making government more efficient.

They argue this is the key to restoring prosperity and winning back the middle class to the Democratic Party.

But many traditional Democrats view the agenda with deep suspicion, seeing it as a Trojan horse for corporate interests and a direct challenge to the party’s core values.

So, this conflict is about more than just reforming overregulation; it’s a battle over power within the party, with moderates hoping to carve out a new identity and progressives fearing the erosion of their influence.

But if Democrats keep pushing California’s model nationwide, they risk revolt.

Because millions of working Americans — many who are lifelong Democrats — are waking up to the reality that it’s not the party of the middle class.

The exodus from California proves the point.

The real question: Will the rest of America learn from California’s mistakes before it’s too late?

Market Rundown for Monday, June 2, 2025

S&P 500 futures are down 0.40% to 5,890.

Oil is up 4.70% to $63.66 for a barrel of WTI.

Gold is up 2.20% to $3,361.70 per ounce.

And Bitcoin is down 0.80% to $104,260.