One of my correspondents is an incredibly acute observer of the Democrats’ non-stop assaults on the State of California, especially in the transportation industry. He recently sent me an email about the fact that California didn’t stop with its attack on trucking. Instead, California Democrats are also going after the shipping industry. He gave me permission to reproduce his email here:

Did you know that, in addition, to all the other wanton destruction in this state, such as the electric car mandate (for which no infrastructure is yet being built), Democrats have similarly deliberately destructive plans for shipping? In 2027, they’re going to require all ships in California ports to turn off their onboard generators and run only onshore power.

This is a big deal, costing tens of millions per dock and, of course, it’s going to require foreign-owned ships to spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, per ship to make the conversions necessary to comport with the new law.

So, if you’re a ship owner and you’re transporting goods either to or from the USA, and you think that California is geographically convenient, what you’re doing right now (this minute) is planning alternate destinations. You’re going to land your ship in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, etc., or even build a new facility in Baja.

But the conflict doesn’t stop there. Even if a company has the margins to afford the new infrastructure, California utilities are massively hiking their rates and are set to do so even more aggressively in the future. So even if you want to comply, there’s more at stake than money. The rate hike is going to mean a massive jobs exodus out of this state.

Now, imagine that you’re a company that provides certain critical infrastructure but you need electricity to operate and you’re regulated so you can’t hike prices. With doubled input costs wiping out your ability to stay solvent, then what? You shut down!

Image: Cargo ship. Piqsels.

And here’s the really messed up part. I know for certain that there are many companies—including woke companies—that don’t like this stuff and are calling Gavin Newsom’s office. Their calls are being answered because they’re donors to the party but they’re also being told to eff off because it’s going to happen whether they like it or not. These companies are leaving because, having funded the Democrats’ rise to power, they’re not getting what they paid for.

The Devil’s Dictionary defines an “honest politician” as “one who, once bought, stays bought.” well, California politicians are not honest—and I’ll keep repeating until I’m blue in the face that this is not an accident or incompetence. What we’re seeing here is deliberate policy.

Democrats want to drive both jobs and conservatives out of this state so that they can turn it into the prototype for their “futureplan.” They envision a state populated only by serfs who stay home and whose only purpose is to vote for the party every couple of years.

Currently, people throw up their hands in dismay at incompetence, shrug their shoulders, and walk away in disgust, which is what Democrats want. However, if you confront people with the cold, hard reality that they’re getting deliberately screwed, they fight back.

When it comes to the shipping business, many of them are raising the middle finger and leaving. As for me, when my employer leaves, I’m leaving with it. In the meantime, though, I’m going to tell everyone I know what is wrong, why it’s happening, and what they need to do to fix it: Most importantly, just stop being helpless victims. Write, vote, and complain. If the serfs don’t do what they’re told, suddenly, the Democrat caliphate has a problem.