Gov. Gavin Newsom lied to Californians about cutting his salary.
According to Fox News, a Sacramento-based newspaper busted the Democratic governor for not taking a pay reduction despite promising to do so three months ago, even as he slashed pay for state employees.
Newsom breaks promise
Like many state governments, California is experiencing a budget shortfall thanks to an economic contraction inflicted by Newsom’s very own coronavirus lockdown.
In May, Newsom made as if to set an example by vowing to take a voluntary pay cut along with state employees to help ease financial burdens in the Golden State amid COVID-19 — but it turns out that “Gruesome Newsom” cut and ran, according to the Sacramento Bee. The governor’s office chalked up the discrepancy to a glitch in the system.
“The Governor publicly committed to taking the same pay cut as other state workers when he introduced his budget in May and has officially asked the Controller to adjust his pay, effective July 1,” a spokesman said, according to Fox. “The reductions for both July and August will be deduced for the next pay period.”
The only elected constitutional officer to take a pay cut was State Controller Betty Yee.
Newsom, a millionaire, draws a $17,479 monthly salary, the Bee reported. His main source of income consists of his winery and hospitality business, which also appears to have operated on favorable terms. According to Fox, the governor’s PlumpJack company remained open until July, long after Newsom called on Californians to shutter their businesses in March, when Newsom became the first governor in America to order a statewide lockdown.
Caught in the act
Amazingly, Fox reports that Newsom also took $150,000 to $350,000 in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), meant to protect small businesses struggling to stay afloat.
Newsom has also taken fire over a data error that led to a backlog of 300,000 coronavirus tests.
“The buck stops with me, I’m accountable,” he said recently, according to Fox. “No one’s trying to hide that, no one’s trying to mask that, we’re owning that, we’re moving forward to address those issues.”
At the very least, Newsom has the distinction of being the leader of the world’s wealthiest developing country. As the San Diego Union Tribune reports, California has been experiencing rolling blackouts for the first time in 19 years, prompting scrutiny of Newsom’s utopian green energy policy.
A Democratic governor who plays by his own rules and lies to his subjects? What a surprise.
No comments: