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09/ Oct’19

Varney: Democrats’ plan in California is not working

FOX Business’ Stuart Varney gives his take on rising gas prices in California.

Why isn't this a major story nationwide: $4 gas in the state with the highest poverty rate in the nation.

I'm talking about California, where the average price of a gallon of regular gas is $4.18, and close to one person in five lives in poverty. Wouldn't you think that such a “progressive” state would do something about the outrageous cost of a fill-up for its millions of poor people?

It should be headline news, but it's not, and that's because the media is in lock-step with the Democrats, who have run California for a generation. “Progressive” failures are rarely acknowledged.

Just imagine you're living in California, not among the coastal elites. No, you're one of the 7 million poor people in the “Golden State,” [and] a 15-gallon fill-up for you costs $62. The rest of the country pays about $20 less per fill-up, and it's $30 less in states like South Carolina.

In California, the very high cost of just getting around really hurts the poor, even though the Democrats are supposed to be helping the poor.

Now, look at the other end of the scale: The rich.

They face the highest income tax rates anywhere. The top rate is 13 percent on top of federal taxes. And of course, under the new tax law, those state-tax payments are no longer deductible. No wonder the rich are leaving.

But it begs the question: How come the state with the highest taxes has the highest poverty rate? The Democrats running for president tell us that if we raise taxes even more, we would reduce income inequality. Hasn't worked in California.

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Its often said that the states are a laboratory for ideas. Try something here, and if it works, use it somewhere else. With $4 gas, super high taxes and 7 million people in poverty, the California plan is not working, and its time the media stopped covering it up.

Note*: News Source from foxbusiness.com