Khorrami, host of California Insider and editor of The Epoch Times Southern California edition, was born and raised in Iran and lived in Mexico City and China before moving to California. He said California was “like paradise” when he moved there, citing its cleanliness, beautiful weather, and economic opportunities. At that time, it was a place to achieve the American dream, raise a family, and succeed. But, according to the film, this is no longer the reality.
The Rise in Crime
The documentary shows how crime has significantly lowered the quality of life for many California residents. For Californians in big cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland, it’s now unsafe to even walk to your car in good neighborhoods. Khorrami has interviewed over 300 people in the last two years, learning about California’s various problems. He says small businesses are fed up with brazen crime plaguing their communities and destroying their livelihoods. Business owners regularly have to deal with stolen merchandise and property damage.“They just want free money, and they have zero respect for other people’s property. They know they aren’t going to get in trouble,” said Derek Drake, a small business owner. According to Drake and others, most business owners don’t even report crimes anymore because there are few consequences for theft or property crime.
Khorrami spoke with Vern Pierson, El Dorado County District Attorney, who noted that when crime directly impacts politicians, they change their tune. This was the case with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who claimed California was safe until she had a personal connection with a burglary. She then reversed her stance.
Pierson said, “When it affects you personally, then your perspective changes, and unfortunately, we have legislators [who] seem so disconnected from what’s actually happening in this state.” He claims that criminals come first in the California legislature over law-abiding citizens. It’s as if California legislators don’t understand the criminal justice system, he said, yet they feel free to change it in detrimental ways.
California’s criminal justice system has been called a “revolving door.” Criminals get out too soon on bail, ready to continue committing more crimes. “The criminal justice system in the state of California is broken,” said Pierson.
In the documentary, Drake recounted how his home was robbed and his truck stolen. He followed the stolen truck in his car, and ended up being T-boned by the truck and pushed sideways up a hill. When the truck eventually stopped, both men got out of the vehicles. They engaged in a physical altercation, which ended with the police arresting the burglar, who was released two days later.
Pierson explained that criminals who commit serious crimes aren’t held accountable. Instead, they are released to continue endangering society.
Although politicians like Gov. Gavin Newsom claim that crime is lower now in California, residents say otherwise, with 40 percent of San Francisco residents saying they would like to leave the city within the next few years. “It’s gotten to the place where you can’t live your life the way you want to live your life here anymore,” said Drake.
According to the United States Census Bureau, California saw a mass exodus of over 800,000 people between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2022. More people are leaving California than moving in. However, crime is only one of the problems. Criminal justice data shows a correlation between underperforming schools, high dropout rates, and the surge in criminal activity.
A Failing Education System
The EpochTV film cites data indicating that California students score among the lowest in the nation, despite having the most expensive school system. Romero showed data from 2015 to 2022 tracing how performance rates have decreased. Less than 2 in 10 African American students are meeting basic mathematics standards. Rates for Latinos and Caucasians are higher; still, the documentary reveals that less than half of Caucasians are meeting basic standards.Romero said she has been working to improve these numbers since 1998, but the issue remains, even though nearly half of the state budget goes into public education.
Former California Sen. Jim Neilson told Khorrami, “Funding is not the issue. It’s what we’re doing with that money and who’s controlling it.”
The California Teachers Association has over 300,000 members, each paying about $1,000 annually. “The teachers union is the number one source of power and money in California,” said Romero. Khorrami said it spent nearly $212 million dollars between Jan. 1, 2000, and Dec. 31, 2009, to influence voters and public officials: more than the spending by pharmaceutical, oil, and tobacco industries combined.
The film shows the money web connecting the teachers’ union, school boards, superintendents, and public officials, outlining the unions’ monopoly over education. Educators say the system is designed to benefit adults instead of students. “They basically tell us it’s all about money, and the children don’t matter,” said Orange County Board of Education president Mari Barke. Romero said they know the problems, but many don’t dare take on the special interests and create change.
Excessive Taxes and Regulations
The documentary shows how the mass exodus of residents from California leads to less income, less tax revenue, less spending, and a less vibrant economy. Businesses and residents are leaving due to high regulations, taxes, and lower quality of life. Business owners say California is not employer-friendly. The documentary cites California laws that penalize businesses, making it unaffordable to stay open. People are tired of being treated like criminals by punitive government measures toward companies and taxpayers.“Even though we’re working hard, even though we’re doing our best, we’ll never be able to achieve the life our parents achieved or our grandparents achieved,” said one California resident as she looked at the cost of housing. The documentary addresses the housing crisis, the challenges facing the real estate and construction industry, unattainable environmental regulations, and the unaffordable prices of essential services like water, electricity, and health care. Residents say these problems are created by bureaucracies and politicians who live out-of-touch lives, rather than by the citizens who are oppressed by bad policies and excessive regulations.
A grandmother who cares for her grandson and works three jobs told Khorrami how she struggles to make ends meet. She explained through tears that she wishes she could tell politicians to live a day in her shoes and know what it’s like to only be able to afford oatmeal. Her story represents 3.3 million California households with no financial cushion for unforeseen expenses, Khorrami noted.
Khorrami spoke with historian Victor Davis Hanson, who commented that people who set policies in California are never subject to the consequences of their own ideology. They enjoy a lavish lifestyle, he said, while low-income residents have to go to Walmart during the heat of the day just to experience free air conditioning. Residents complain that politicians pass environmental regulations to try to ban the use of gas stoves, lawnmowers, gas vehicles, and more, but think nothing of flying their own private jets.
The film also addresses California’s drug, mental health, and homeless crises. Khorrami says that to ordinary people, politics is about problems like these that affect their daily lives. He believes that state leaders are elitist and disconnected, attempting to solve problems that Californians don’t have, and causing more problems for the citizens they are supposed to represent.
