SANTA MONICA, California — One of the last times I was in California was a couple of weeks before then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom won the governor’s race. It was late 2018, and COVID-19 was 16 months away. So were the riots that accompanied the death of George Floyd, homeless camps, and the decline of California’s premier cities.

Over lunch at George’s Burgers, life here seemed ideal, at least compared to what was about to come. Certainly, the pastrami sandwich was.

In the past seven years, much has changed in the state. The population has declined for the first time since 1850, which began in 2021.

At that time, rules passed by the California workplace safety agency still required masks to be worn indefinitely. It was unclear if 99% of the state’s schools would be allowed to open in August of that year. Homelessness in the state had hit over 170,000, covering over 12,000 encampments and nearly 300,000 cubic yards of debris.

Income taxes........

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