Dumpster Fire of the Vanities: Gavin Newsom Edition

In 1497, Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola took to the streets of Florence with his followers and burned the objects and artifacts he considered “occasions of sin.” These included books, cosmetics, and anything likely to spur the immoral population toward “social excess.” This conflagration was known as the falò delle vanità, or in English, the Bonfire of the Vanities. More than 500 years later, American progressives have taken up the friar’s mantle and applied a uniquely modern twist. This week’s edition of “Dumpster Fire of the Vanities” casts its eyes over the Golden State golden boy, Governor Gavin Newsom.

Energy Be Damned, Says Newsom

The wicked use of energy by the immoral masses is but one of the many sins to be cast unto the flames. Determined to wean the greedy populace from the climate-catastrophe-inducing fossil fuels that have sustained economic growth in the region, Governor Newsom has unleashed the full might of his office. The cost per kilowatt-hour in California is currently 30 cents, almost double the national average of 18 cents. With a state-wide ban on sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035, residents can rest assured that at some point, the infrastructure will catch up with the ambition and that energy will be cheap and available for all. It’s not there yet, though.

Soon after announcing the moratorium on new sales of traditional cars, the state and power grid operators issued an alert asking locals to limit their electricity usage and to exercise voluntary conservation in order to avoid outages. The idea that Californians can have their electric vehicles and expect the power to charge them is simply one audacity too far and must be hoisted onto the burning heap.

Homes? Who Needs Homes?

The idea of homes for residents is surely a candidate for this Savonarolian purge. Despite laying out his ten-year plan to end homelessness in 2008, the number of rough sleepers under Newsom’s watch has skyrocketed. From 2017 to 2022, there was an increase in People Experiencing Homelessness (PEH) of 35%, bringing the total number in the state to more than 250,000.

As lieutenant governor, Newsom promised that he would oversee the building of more than 3.5 million new homes. As of 2021, the state has produced roughly only 100,000 annually. Naturally, rental costs have gone through the roof, and a buzzing trade in “pod-living” is on the rise. Sleeping pods are boxes measuring the size of a mattress, containing a bed, a desk, a fan, and a light. Landlords are installing up to 20 of these pods in what would traditionally be family homes.

Who needs a home of their own when they can sleep in a small wooden box for a mere $800 a month?

Safety and Hygiene Are Overrated

The freedoms to defecate in the streets and to shoplift with legal impunity are a high priority in Newsom’s kingdom. Cleaning up needles and human waste, or sending criminals to prison, however, are just some of the sinful practices that deserve no place in California. As open-air drug markets proliferate, dodging hypodermics has become as popular as hopscotch, and the fallout of dangerous drug use – the overdoses, the crimes – are now part of the rich tapestry that makes up the world’s fifth largest economy.

Naturally, to ensure the fullness of this transformational inferno, language must be corrected – and even prosecuted – when necessary. After more than $1 million worth of goods were purloined during a “mostly peaceful” expression of public righteousness, experts warned that law enforcement and shop owners could be deemed racists for referring to the liberators of high-end apparel as “looters.” While cautioning against the use of such divisive language, a report declared, "As the Bay Area grapples with a wave of seemingly organized smash and grab robberies this weekend, policing and journalism analysts are cautioning against the use of the term looting.”

Newsom and His Burning Reality

The final and most egregious gift to the flames, courtesy of Newsom, is reality. At the recent Code Conference 2022, the governor was asked about the mass exodus of Californians to somewhat less blue climes, such as Texas and Florida. He responded that the number one factor responsible for U-Haul’s growing success was Donald Trump. More specifically, Newsom blamed Trump’s visa policies, stating that "Our formula for success is getting first-round draft choices from around the world. I mean, we’re as dumb as we want to be … This whole border debate is made up."

This was an apt deflection from a politician who has been a major operator in California since 1998. He failed to address why Golden Staters are fleeing their homes and instead pivoted toward why he can’t maintain or increase the overall population level. If in doubt or despair, blame Trump.

It is not just the vanities of modern life on the bonfire, but perhaps even the American Dream.