political commentary

California hit the wall? So I live in california and so not a newsom fan. I think his ideas cost us way too much. His taxes are killing us. So to list out a couple points -

1. The "Big Business" Exodus

The Paul Mitchell and Blue Diamond departures aren't isolated incidents; they are part of a trend where the "math" of staying in California no longer adds up for legacy companies.

• The Revenue Trap: California relies on the top 1% of earners for nearly half of its income tax. When a billionaire like John Paul DeJoria moves his HQ to Texas, it’s not just about the jobs—it’s a massive hit to the state's tax base.

   

• The Regulation Wall: Many companies leaving in 2026 cite the state’s aggressive new climate mandates and labor laws as the final straw. They feel the state is making it too expensive to simply exist.

2. The Oil Pipeline & Energy Crisis

There is a major showdown happening right now over the Las Flores pipeline system.

• The Probe: Just this week (February 4, 2026), federal investigators (DOJ and SEC) began demanding documents from Sable Offshore, the company trying to restart offshore oil pipelines near Santa Barbara.

   

• The Conflict: Newsom’s administration has been fighting to keep these lines closed to meet climate goals, while critics argue that shutting down local production just makes California more dependent on expensive foreign oil and drives up gas prices for regular people.

3. The High-Speed Rail "Burn"

The High-Speed Rail remains the ultimate symbol of government waste for many.

• The Money Pit: Despite being billions over budget and decades behind, the state is doubling down. Just last month (January 2026), they launched a new push to find private investors because the state can no longer afford to fund it alone.

• The Deficit Link: It is hard for the Governor to justify spending billions on a train through the Central Valley when he is simultaneously cutting healthcare benefits for immigrants and stripping funding from homelessness programs to plug a $3 billion to $18 billion deficit (depending on whose math you trust).

So i am wondering if Sheriff Chad Bianco ideas would not be good as well?

I myself find it quite conserning that some of these old business are leaving my suspect is high costs.

Dynamic Reponses vs Fixed Beliefs.

I saw this tweet this AM and was kind of floored by it on so many
layers.

Most responders were dunking on the obvious backwards justifying.
Here's a belief I already hold irrationally, let me find evidence for
it.

But, to me, there's another problem that equally applies to people of
any religious or political affiliation.

This sense of collapsing the possibility and response space to a
single fixed outcome.

How we hate politicians who change their positions and call them
flip-floppers.

But reality itself is dynamic, situations are unique, the appropriate
response depends on the context.

Ideally all the meditation, relational practice, healing work, and so
on is about learning how to become more sensitive and responsive to
reality. Likewise, we ought to be able to do the same with our
companies, religions, companies.

Another way of looking at this would be adult developmental frames
like a Kegan 3 who hasn't gotten to 4 or 5 yet?

Noticing how I'm watching the debate. My system is naturally watching for whose answers seem more solid, confident. So far, JD Vance seems a little more stable. Tim Walz seems comfortable when attacking, but very nervous and uncertain when trying to answer the core content of a question. It’s a little funny and surprising to see his nervousness – e.g., constantly repeating and overusing the term fundamental.

Vance seeming better is kinda unfortunate for me because on values I’m way more aligned with Walz!

Also noticing that I’m initially much more focused on style than substance and who’s winning… will see if that shifts.

Could it be ethically ok to not vote? note: I posted this two hours before Biden stepped down. It’s possible that a different Dem candidate could change my choices, but my overall perspective feels the same.

A lot of people I’m close to have very strong opinions that to not vote in this presidential election is wrong. But I have no interest in voting. It genuinely seems to me that things will be perfectly not ideal no matter what happens in the election.

My best guess of what’s happening culturally is that the mean green meme has gotten really far down its negative feedback loop, and red, orange, and amber are swarming on the attack. If that’s right, a breaking point of sorts will have to be hit for teal to get to its tipping point. In 12-step terms, green would have to hit rock bottom to be able to finally admit it has a problem and needs help.

I wouldn’t be surprised if teal’s tipping point would have to be particularly intense because it’s also the tipping point into second tier, and we have no historical reference for what it takes for a culture to begin to get a foothold in a new tier (the big bang, the formulation of simple cells, and the leap from apes to humans might be comparable but difficult to translate…)

This thought process just leaves me trusting what’s happening, and voting just doesn’t feel like one of the ways I want to participate in this happening.