We have written extensively about the number of California residents so appalled by the collapse of public decency and the corresponding increase in crime that they have voted with their feet and fled the state.
This exodus even includes the in-laws of California’s current governor Gavin Newsom (aka Gruesome). (Complete details here.)
Residents, however, aren’t the only folks fleeing California after The Golden State became The Gruesome State.
Corporations are also leaving and this exodus isn’t confined to California.
Fox Business tells us clothing company Cotopaxi has left San Francisco and California.
CEO Davis Smith told Fox he grew up in Latin America and never "felt as unsafe" there as he does in Scat Francisco.
"We are closing the [San Francisco] store due to rampant organized theft and lack of safety for our team. Our store is hit by organized theft rings several times per week. They brazenly enter the store and grab thousands of dollars of product and walk out."
The city’s callous attitude toward the safety of its productive citizens has affected Smith personally, "It makes me sad that I’m now avoiding San Francisco, a city I used to love. Last time my wife and I went in 2020, a drugged up person ran up to my wife’s face and started screaming some of the most obscene things I’ve ever heard.
"She was terrified. During a previous trip, my rental car was broken into and everything was stolen out of our trunk.
"When calling the police to report the theft, they let us know this happens hundreds of times per day in the city and said it was our own fault for parking in the street."
San Francisco isn’t alone in its race to the bottom.
Chicago is proving to be tough competition.
The City of Big Shoulders has seen the loss of major corporations including Caterpillar, Boeing and Tyson Foods.
Even McDonald’s, which is headquartered in Chicago, is having second thoughts.
CEO Chris Kempczinski observed, "We have violent crime that's happening in our restaurants . . . we're seeing homelessness issues in our restaurants. We're having drug overdoses that are happening in our restaurants.
"So, we see in our restaurants, every single day, what's happening in society at large."
Ken Griffin, a billionaire, has moved his hedge–fund Citadel due to pervasive crime that hit all too close to home.
"If people aren’t safe here, they’re not going to live here," Griffin told The Wall Street Journal in April.
"I’ve had multiple colleagues mugged at gunpoint. I’ve had a colleague stabbed on the way to work. Countless issues of burglary. I mean, that’s a really difficult backdrop with which to draw talent to your city."
Naturally Mayor Beetlejuice, whoops, Lightfoot had a bad reaction when confronted by the truth. "I think what would have been helpful is for the McDonald's CEO to educate himself before he spoke."
Kempczinski, bless his heart, refused to back down: "The fact is that there are fewer large companies headquartered in Chicago this year than last year. There are fewer this month than last month."
California and Illinois’ Carnival of Crime has been a boon for states not ruled by compassionate incompetents. This exodus comes with a caveat, though.
Governors of states receiving this influx need to keep in mind many of their new residents are carriers of leftist ideology.
They flee California and Illinois but don’t leave their left-voting habits behind.
Left untreated, this ideology can turn their new states into the same type of hellhole they left. Think San Francisco with cornbread.
Short of putting new residents in an ideological detox center — sure to reduce in migration in the future — governors and mayors should work with the leaders of their new arrivals to educate employees on the advantages of government that doesn’t tolerate pooping on the sidewalk and refuses to embrace crime as reparations on the installment plan.
If Blue State corporations can force employees to sit in training sessions where whites are told their skin color makes them toxic, corporations that move to Red States should be able to educate employees as to why they left and how to prevent the same thing from happening in their new home.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.