On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Story Is,” Democratic California gubernatorial candidate former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said that “we are the fourth-largest economy in the world. Something’s going on that’s not bad.” But “we’ll get more things done, and we’ll get them done a lot faster because the crisis is upon us. And it takes someone who’s actually had to deal with crises to know how to get us out of them.”
Host Elex Michaelson asked, “California, right now, has the highest poverty rate in the country, highest gas prices in the country, the most homeless people in the country, and among the most affordability issues when it comes to homes in the country. Do you think that the Democrats in this state who have been in charge of it, in a supermajority, are doing a good job?”
Becerra responded, “We could do better, no doubt, but we are the fourth-largest economy in the world. We are the place where the new economy engines, the industries are coming, tech and so forth. We still are the place where people want to come visit, whether it’s Disneyland or the beaches. And what we have to do is just make it more affordable. But people want to come to California. People would like to stay in California. We have to make it so they can afford it. And that’s a big task, but we’ll work on it.”
Michaelson then asked, “What changes from a policy perspective, what’s different with you than what we’ve seen over the last four years with Gov. Newsom (D)?”
Becerra answered, “We’ll get things done. I think –.”
Michaelson cut in to ask, “You’re suggesting he hasn’t?”
Becerra answered, “No, he’s done quite a few things. But we’ll get more things done, and we’ll get them done a lot faster because the crisis is upon us. And it takes someone who’s actually had to deal with crises to know how to get us out of them. And that’s one area where, whether it was the COVID pandemic, whether it was trying to finally decrease prices for prescription drugs, which I did for the first time by negotiating against some of the largest pharmaceutical companies, or whether it was taking on the biggest menace that we face in California, Donald Trump, I did it as attorney general, it helps to have someone who has experience. Katie Porter can say a lot of things, but one thing I won’t need are training wheels when I walk into the governor’s office.”
Michaelson followed up, “But in terms of a specific policy for the state going forward, you didn’t mention any. Is there a specific policy that you would change that we’ve seen over the last four years, or something that needs to be done better?”
Becerra answered, “Better. We are one of 50 states, but we are the fourth-largest economy in the world. Something’s going on that’s not bad. The difficulty is we have too many families who aren’t seeing the prosperity reach them, and we have to do a better job of making sure that we keep that engine going. But make sure the engine is humming for everyone.”
Becerra further stated, “We build more, we build more housing so we can reduce that demand that causes prices to go up because there aren’t enough good places to live, and that means everyone’s seeking that one place and they drive up the price. Build more so there’s not such a great demand. We also make sure that we don’t go anywhere near where Donald Trump would like us to go when it comes to healthcare, we don’t start kicking people off of their healthcare simply because Donald Trump gutted $1 trillion out of the healthcare system.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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