Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California Governor, outlines his platform to address the state's economic and social crises. He attributes California's decline to union power, excessive regulation, and ideological policies, proposing radical solutions like eliminating state income tax for low earners, cutting government waste, and reforming housing, crime, and education.
Summarized by Podsumo
Bold Tax Reform: Hilton proposes eliminating state income tax for Californians earning under $100,000 and implementing a 7.5% flat tax for all higher incomes, requiring an 18.5% budget cut to pre-pandemic spending levels.
Combating Government Waste: He estimates over $80 billion annually in fraud, waste, and abuse, citing examples of climate and cannabis funds diverted to political activism rather than their stated purposes.
Addressing Housing & Crime: Hilton blames the housing crisis on union power, litigation, and "climate dogma" (e.g., CEQA lawsuits, building codes) and advocates for enforcing existing laws against homelessness, mandatory recovery programs, and reversing prison closures to combat rising crime.
Education Overhaul: Despite spending nearly $27,000 per student, California's education system underperforms. Hilton champions school choice, phonics-based reading instruction, and accountability measures like grades for every school and teacher to improve outcomes.
Path to Victory: He aims to build a multiracial working-class coalition for "change" from current policies, leveraging high dissatisfaction rates and potential voter turnout for issues like voter ID to secure a win against a Democrat in the general election.
"There are so many things I see in California today that are exactly like the UK in the 70s. You've got the massive dominance of the unions in policy making. You've got a slurotic economy. You've got massively high taxation."
— Steve Hilton
"The interest that benefit from this system are funding the politicians that make the decisions."
— Steve Hilton
"As long as we're using oil and gas in California, let's use our oil and gas rather than importing it."
— Steve Hilton