Newsom calls homelessness, poverty ‘poster child’ of California’s failures
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom said homelessness and poverty are the poster child for the state’s failures and called the affordability and housing crisis the “original sin” during a new podcast interview.
“The Ezra Klein Show” host Ezra Klein asked Newsom recounted an interview with Michael Savage earlier this year in which the conservative radio host said: “Gavin, the homeless issue is the turning point. When that guy defecated outside the window, that was the beginning of the end of San Francisco, not just for me but for the entire city.”
Klein asked Newsom if he believed there were a number of problems in the state that were difficult for him to see as governor.
“Well, the affordability crisis, he’s 100 percent right. The poster child for our failure as a state is the problem of poverty on the streets and on the sidewalks associated with encampments and homelessness,” Newsom responded.
Homeless people and tents are seen at a sidewalk homeless camp in Los Angeles, California, on August 6, 2025. California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a rally on November 8, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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However, the governor argued that people complaining about California still love the state and either grew up in the state or made money from it. He pointed to Elon Musk Space X and X headquarters Even though Musk has moved them out of California, it’s starting in the state.
“What they don’t like is progressive taxes,” Newsom said. “This is a progressive tax; they want to take their capital gains elsewhere, I understand that very well. Homelessness, housing and transportation problems are legendary. This is a mass exodus.”
What he meant was that “California destabilization syndrome” is not new.
Homeless camp on the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Toby Canham for Fox News Digital)
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Newsom acknowledged during the interview that California’s economic crises are real.
“It was the original sin going back decades. Housing — period, full stop. More things and more roads in more days. It explains it all. That’s the original sin in California. NIMBYism — we didn’t get out of our own way. We didn’t produce enough housing stock. It’s Economics 101: supply and demand. It’s not too complicated,” he said.
“Nimby” means “not in my backyard” and expresses residents’ opposition to new developments or housing projects.
The governor stated that the state has changed its approach to homelessness and housing problems and said, “Last year, we completed 110,000 houses. This is definitely insufficient. Therefore, we have more work to do.” he said.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at the 2025 New York Times DealBook Summit in New York City on December 3, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Newsom unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan in May to combat his state’s homeless crisis, which included pressure on cities to take action.
Newsom shared a model ordinance for cities and counties to “immediately respond to dangerous and unhealthy encampments and connect people experiencing homelessness with shelter and services.”
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“There is nothing merciful about letting people die in the streets,” Newsom said in a news release at the time.
