How “Pocketbook Politics” Can Save Rural Areas From Looming Economic Disaster

| Photo by Carlos Aranda on Unsplash

Part VII of the “Pocketbook Politics” Series

One of this columnist’s Californian friends suggests that Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, who will be termed out in 2027, should move to the Golden State. He was asked why. This friend says that Governor Beshear should run for governor in California as early as 2026 so that he could introduce his back-to-basics governance, end the Golden State’s deficit-spending sprees, and generate budget surpluses year after year — just like what he did in Kentucky. If that happens, he says California will unofficially become the “Golden Bluegrass State.”

Indeed, California seems to be no longer golden but more of a “Copper (or Lead) State.” It has faced significant budgetary problems over the last two years—by experts’ estimates, a $27 billion deficit in 2023‑24 and a $55 billion deficit in 2024‑25 (excluding early action taken this year). Much of the state’s reserves left by the frugal Gov. Jerry Brown are slowly becoming a mirage.

California has been the fifth-largest economy in the world for seven consecutive years, with a nominal GDP of nearly $3.9 trillion in 2023 and a growth rate of 6.1% since the year prior. The economic records come from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. But will the Golden State maintain its economic status in the long run? Or even in the immediate future—like in the next four years?

For decades, California has been a thriving market for emerging companies. However, the Golden State has since had to compete with neighboring states and Red states like the Commonwealth of Kentucky to keep companies from leaving. The California Policy Institute counts more than 237 businesses that have left the state since 2005. Thousands of Californians have moved to and continue to relocate to other states even before 2005.

Here are some examples: Niagara Bottling, a California-based water-bottling company, invested $114 million to construct a new manufacturing facility in Walton, Kentucky.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) operates an automobile factory in Georgetown, KY. Five years ago, Toyota moved its head office from Southern CA to Plano, Texas. TMMK is Toyota’s most extensive vehicle manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. It’s been a hub of Toyota’s North American operations since 1986. Toyota ended production at its plant in Fremont, CA (operated in a joint venture with General Motors) in 2009. It sold it to Tesla, which reopened it as the Tesla Fremont Factory in 2010.

A Riverside-based maker of lithium batteries is leaving California. It has relocated its headquarters and employees to Kentucky.

This columnist thinks Californians should adopt “Pocketbook Politics ” starting January 2025—yes, reinvent it and incorporate Governor Beshear’s socioeconomic call to arms. Remember, as stated earlier in this series, the Kentucky governor called for political parties “to focus on core issues that matter to people every day—like jobs, housing, and healthcare.”

The Generation X (Gen X) of California must study and improve the concept of “Pocketbook Politics.” Gen X comprises people born between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s. They are the generation after the Baby Boomers and before the Millennials, many of whom are children of Gen X couples. This columnist reminded Andy Beshear’s fans in California that his favorite governor was born on November 29, 1977. Mr. Beshear is a member of Gen X.

This columnist, his wife, and some ten friends spent the last three days of the 2024 Thanksgiving weekend in a small city in Central California. He will not yet identify the town, as it may be premature to release details of a vision he and his friends thought of during their short stay there. However, the idea can transform into one of California’s wealthiest cities in a decade if its population agrees to become the pilot rustic area to test if “Pocketbook Politics” can work in the Golden State’s rural cities and towns. At least 10.6% of the city population had been classified as living in poverty as determined by state officials — per the latest data in 2022. According to Census data, it fares modestly well compared to California’s overall poverty rate, which increased to 18.9% in 2023, up from 16.4% in 2022 and 11.0% in 2021.

This column will discuss in more detail, by this Sunday, how rural cities in California (and other states) can become socioeconomic engines of success.