BUCK: Gavin Newsom’s poking around. He’s got some Florida envy. He’s poking around down in Florida saying, “Move to California from Florida.” I would love —
CLAY: I’ve been seeing this video, seeing this ad.
BUCK: Yeah. I would love to place bets on what the numbers are here of how many Floridians are gonna say, “Yeah! Send me to the place where the major cities have a special app to help you avoid stepping in human poop or on needles,” because that’s a real thing in San Francisco, which — as you have said — should be the most beautiful city probably in America.
CLAY: Such a jewel.
BUCK: It’s amazing city. They have ruined it. California was an amazing state. You and I grew up in the nineties in America. California was the Promised Land.
CLAY: Yes.
BUCK: California gave us Ronald Reagan. People forget this. California was a Republican state, solidly, in presidential elections, until about the mid-nineties and massive illegal immigration.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
BUCK: California is a place that I think is just gonna continue to hemorrhage residents. They’ve lost more residents than any other individual state. Gavin Newsom is annoyed about this and living in I think a delusion. Remember that thing, Clay, when he was like, “What’s going on here?” when they had all the trains with the trash everywhere from the thefts going on.
CLAY: As if he were surprised.
BUCK: And he showed up with his hands on his hips, “This is outrageous! Who’s in charge here?” It’s like, “You’re in charge, jackass.”
CLAY: You created this.
BUCK: But here we go. We have Gavin Newsom picking a fight with our buddy Ronnie D. down in Florida, the governor in Florida. Play clip 14.
BUCK: There’s so much here, Clay.
CLAY: There’s no one making that move.
BUCK: California is the most anti-freedom, authoritarian state in the entire country. Start with that. California is where your restaurant could shut down and you could go bankrupt because you couldn’t use the outdoor dining you had set up by their own rules when they changed their mind, but if you were doing craft services for a major movie like, that’s important; so that’s allowed to continue with hundreds of people gathered together eating and being in line. It is such a ridiculous pitch. But look, you can probably run this in Asheville and get some of the blue-haired… There was a lot of… I’d never… What is this when they call it, when people put this thing, it’s like —
CLAY: The big earring hoop?
BUCK: No, it’s not that. It’s a thing that goes kind of in the earlobe.
CLAY: Yeah, right.
BUCK: I don’t know what that’s called.
CLAY: I don’t know what that’s called but I see it a lot.
BUCK: I saw it in Asheville. Anyway, they may move to California, is the point.
CLAY: The cluelessness here, California filled in skate parks with sand to keep kids from being able to skateboard. They arrested a paddleboarder in the middle of the ocean. The cluelessness, and I’m down in Florida; so, watching this, I think it’s also worth pointing out, Buck, in addition to those 46 million people who moved – who’s moving? The people who are leaving New York, Illinois, and California are overwhelmingly the highest earners because they’re more likely to be able to work remotely. Right?
Because if you work in a bar, let’s say, it’s not like your job can suddenly go remote, which is why lockdowns overwhelmingly hurt people who need to live paycheck to paycheck the most. But for many people, it was effectively an experiment. Hey, maybe I don’t need to be in Chicago anymore. Hey, maybe I don’t need to be in New York City or L.A. I can buy a cheaper house in a state with no state income tax, which is huge. Sixteen percent difference in income in California versus Florida.
BUCK: And Gavin Newsom is delusional because by every metric, if you were to line this up — do you ever play the Street Fighter video game, in the arcade?
CLAY: Of course.
BUCK: Wasn’t it amazing? Yeah. The guy with, like, the blond… Not like a Mohawk. He was like a Marine or something. Anyway, Street Fighter, for those of you who know the video game–
CLAY: Mortal Kombat. When I said, “Finish him!” that was Mortal Kombat.
BUCK: If we had DeSantis on one side and Gavin Newsom on the other of the Street Fighter video game, it would not be a close contest, friends. There would be lots of hurricane kicks, and Gavin Newsom would be down for the count. You look at the actual data, economically Florida is about to have a record budget surplus.
BUCK: Florida has so much money coming into the state, magically without a state income tax, everybody, that they’re setting up huge rainy-day funds to protect state institutions and state governance agencies, et cetera, basic, you know, schools, et cetera, et cetera, so that they’re good to go even if there is a cyclical downturn for Florida in the future. California is hemorrhaging people, okay? They’re losing. So we’ve already run the experiment. California is losing on this one. Florida has won. It just goes to show you, it’s like they’re living in a fantasyland. They’re living in La La Land out in L.A.
CLAY: Well, yes. And this is also perfect example, if truly California was doing better than Florida, markets would reflect that everybody would be moving to California, which people did. California gained population — I believe I’m correct in this, Buck — every year from 1850 (look it up; I believe they became a state in California in 1850) — all the way to 2020. So, 170 years where they only gained population, and they started losing in 2020. And a lot of those people are moving to Florida. They’re voting with their feet by moving to Florida, which is why Florida is now capital of the Republican Party, California becoming more blue. Gavin Newsom versus Ron DeSantis? Not a crazy idea for what 2024’s presidential election could end up being.
BUCK: It’s called the plug, this form of jewelry. I’ve never heard of it.
CLAY: In the earlobe thing
BUCK: The earplug or ear spool. I had to look this up. Yes. It is common in downtown Nashville. I was unfamiliar with this.
CLAY: Yeah, I’ve seen it. I have no idea what it was called. I’m not gonna be adding earplug to my fashion repertoire any time soon.
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