It gets tiring to hear of all the new ways the state Legislature wants to further drive up the cost of living in California.

They don’t get it. Or do they and just don’t care?

Politicians talk a good game about lowering the costs of living here but always seem to rachet things up rather than change their policies.

California Democrats have long been clamoring to provide free healthcare to illegal aliens. Then Trump came along and said if you want to do that California then you need to pay for it, not all U.S. taxpayers. That left Newsom and his ilk in a lurch – with no federal funds going to their favorite underclass, the state has to come up with more ways to foot the bill.

In November 2024, California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 35, which made the Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax permanent under state law and directed the revenues toward expanding healthcare access.

That’s where the proposed new Healthcare Premium Tax comes into play. The Trump administration must approve the state’s revised tax plan for California to continue drawing down federal matching funds so state Assembly and Senate Republicans are urging Trump to say “no way, Jose.” They warn the new tax on health coverage will drive up premiums for families, workers, and small businesses across the state by the tune of another $425 per year for a family of four.

Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, who just may be one of the few heroes in Sacramento, said the new Healthcare Premium Tax is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” adding that “Newsom and Sacramento Democrats blew billions, can’t balance a budget, and now they want working families to pay the price with another $425 in higher healthcare costs. Californians are already struggling to afford coverage – the last thing they need is another backdoor tax hike from Sacramento.”

The statehouse GOP argues the tax, $8.85 per enrollee each month on commercial, Medicaid, and ACA plans, will be passed onto consumers, adding roughly $425 a year for a typical family.

Healthcare industry leaders argue that the tax measure conflicts with Proposition 35, which limits the taxes charged to private health plans. Prop. 35 also requires that much of the revenue be used to expand Medi-Cal services and increase provider rates, rather than offset general fund spending on the program.

Dr. René Bravo, president of the California Medical Association said this of the new tax: “Raising health insurance premiums to help balance the state budget is simply robbing Peter to pay Paul. It will only make it harder for families to keep coverage and get the care they need.”

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The election is over a month in the past. So what did we learn?

We learned that Tom Steyer cannot buy his way into office. Voters didn’t trust him after spending $216,000 on his populism-coded gubernatorial bid.

We know that a substantial amount of Californians are fed up with the direction of the state and went with Steve Hilton. Unfortunately, there are still too many voters who want government to feed them and wipe their butts so they will keep electing the likes of Xavier Becerra who promise everything and deliver the same old high taxes and regulations. And since there are so many Trump haters they will vote Becerra to fight Orange Man Bad who won’t be around in two years. But they’ll transfer their hatred to his vice president who doesn’t put out the mean Tweets.

So get excited all you want about the prospects of a Governor Hilton but the truth is we’ve had GOP candidates face off in the last elections and they’ve all lost (Meg Whitman in 2010; Neel Nashkari in 2014; John Cox in 2018 and the 2021 Newsome recall; and Brian Dahle in 2022).

We also learned that even though Marie Alvarado-Gil deserved another term in the state State, some didn’t like that she switched from a Democrat to a Republican in the middle of her term. Some didn’t trust her motives. She was a conservative, after all, but she ended up being edged out by a cowboy-esque Republican who can ride a horse and shoot guns. Alexandra Duarte will face off with Sonora native and Democrat Brandon Jaron who at age 33 is a Tuolumne County supervisor.

The Chad Condit allegations didn’t help, I’m sure.

At any rate, because of Democrat gerrymandering, the State Senate 4th District is now it bluer than before by removing rural, heavily white and Republican-leaning mountain and northern valley areas while adding more suburban and ethnically diverse communities in the North Bay and western Sacramento region. And the Democrats say the Republicans rig elections.

We also learned that California is still the laughing stock of the nation because it can’t give immediate vote tallies like other states can. This will continue as long as we had out ballots and let the masses vote by mail with no proof they are citizens as they claim to be.

We also know Bay Area voters are so liberal that they would even consider electing someone like Scott Wiener – ever the champion of LGBT and legitimizing all types of sexual perversions – to replace Nancy Pelosi in Congress.

We also know that only 34.6 percent of registered voters in Stanislaus County felt a civic duty to vote while 65.4 percent checked out. Even though men died for freedom and a system of governing through the ballot box, the vast majority just don’t give a rip.

It’s enough to depress the common sense voters.

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Shirley Rogers made a great point on Monday when the mayor read a prepared statement about why he didn’t support a moratorium on future car washes and gas stations. That “speech” included a statement about welcoming every business that wants to set up in Ceres: “Ceres cannot claim to be open for business while you’re telling a lawful business, ‘We’re open, but just not for you.’ If a project complies with our general plan, zoning code, safety standards, and required findings, it deserves a fair opportunity to compete.”

She took a shot at him, asking why he then fought Pollo Campero restaurant when they proposed to build on Hatch Road. Lopez had nothing to say other than thank you.

The Ceres Planning Commission approved the application of Pollo Campero after Lopez sent an emissary to convey his objections over the project. His message was that, like the city didn’t want to see a concentration of gas stations next to each other, “the situation is repeating itself with a different product.”

Pollo Campero ripped up its plans to build next to Raising Cane’s and the mayor also now suddenly opposes a gas station moratorium.

Good for her for spotlighting the obvious hypocrisy, Shirley.

This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation. How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com