California was once a great place and can be again, but not without serious work by its residents, Victor Davis Hanson said in a speech on campus.
“If we don’t have some type of unity,” Hanson said, “If that progressive movement is not defeated and we don’t have a normal Democratic Party and people self-select geographically, then we are in trouble, big trouble.”
Hanson, who is the Wayne and Marcia Buske Distinguished Fellow in History at Hillsdale, discussed his home state in a speech titled “California’s Dysfunction and the Future of Our Country” on Sept. 6. He delivered his remarks in a nearly packed Plaster Auditorium.
Hanson, a fifth-generation Californian, renowned classicist, historian, and political pundit opened his speech by discussing the wonders of California.
“The thing to remember about California is that there is no place like it in the world,” Hanson said. “It’s got the third largest coastline and the largest linear coastline of all the states.”
Hanson said the state has the two best ports – San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles, the richest farmland, all on top of billions of barrels of oil.
“It’s unfortunate we aren’t using it but we could,” Hanson said.
He said the state now has high taxes, including the highest income tax rate in the nation at 13.3%.
“We say that we don’t have the highest sales taxes, but the counties and local jurisdictions add on, so most sales tax is about 11-12%. We say that we don’t have the highest property taxes, because it’s only at 1.5%, but the assessed evaluation is so high because we limit construction and new development.”
Hanson discussed how California came to be this way.
“It’s easy to diagnose the problem — it’s a one-party state,” Hanson said. “We have had 12 years of Democratic governance.”
But there is still hope for California, according to Hanson.
“People who were very liberal, who were agents of the change and you know them – Matt Taibbi, Elon Musk, and Bill Maher – they are shocked at what they created, and so they flipped,” Hanson said.
Freshman and former U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. T.J. Korotzer, who attended the speech, said he has a deep respect for Hanson.
“He recognizes and holds in high regard the things that really keep our civilization running, the farmers, the skilled laborers, the rule of law, etc,” Korotzer said. “He has a love for California that rises above its politics. I am from California and growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area I have seen my home deteriorate over the years. I don’t want to have to abandon my home, I would much rather work to make it better.”
Freshman Alessia Sandala said the most memorable part of the speech was when Hanson addressed how so many people who voted for the policies causing California’s problems today are the ones complaining about it.
“The fact that no one takes responsibility any more stood out to me,” Sandala said. “I can see it reflected everywhere in today’s culture.”
Senior and Marine Sgt. Devon Downes, who also attended the speech, said it was a pleasure to listen to Hanson. Downes said his insight on the fiscal recklessness and insulation of the bureaucrats who do not feel the sting of their own policies stood out to him.
“That so many Democrats see in California an example to be emulated across the rest of the country makes Hillsdale’s role in teaching students and the general public about economics as important as ever,” Downes said.
Native Californian and freshman Alex Mooney said not all is lost in the state and restoration is possible.
“Hanson suggested that the challenge is not insurmountable if people take serious action,” Mooney said. “Another interesting claim Dr. Hanson made was that California’s difficulties are almost all self-inflicted, which I think serves as a warning to the world about the dangers of California’s type of policy.”
