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Ezra Klein: “California routinely ranks as the least affordable state in…”

Featuring: Ezra Klein, Liberal | New York Times Columnist and Podcast Host | National

How Gavin Newsom Became the Democrats' 2028 Frontrunner | The Ezra Klein Show

Published December 10, 2025 | Video Starts at 03:18

Look, California, in my view, is the greatest state in the nation, the place I love more than anywhere else on earth. But at a time when the politics of affordability are paramount, California routinely ranks as the least affordable state in the nation. Newsom has signed many good bills, done many good things, but he has not fixed that. (03:18–03:23)

CLAIM

Asserts that California is often ranked as the least affordable state in the U.S.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Ezra Klein

“They are the most alcohol addicted, most drug addicted, most suicidal, most depressed, most medicated generation in history.”
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“California ranks 50th on affordability.”
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“In Sweden, I think more than 80% of single family homes are now offsite modular or off site manufactured.”
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“The net worth held by the top 0.1% of households in the US reached $23.3 trillion in the second quarter of this year.”
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“That is up from $10.7 trillion a decade earlier.”
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“The amount held by the bottom 50% increased to 4.2 trillion from 900 billion.”
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“In California, there actually was subsidized government healthcare for undocumented immigrants.”
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“If you look at the polymarket betting odds on who will be the 2020 Democratic nominee, [Gavin] Newsom is far ahead of anyone else.”
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“Everybody says, and I believe California is a place where the future happens first.”
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“If you can't get a house, if you don't see a path to get a house.”
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“It's not even feasible in a lot of these cities to ever get a house.”
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“Once you feel like you can get on that ladder, you're okay.”
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“Liberal democracy will not work if policy cannot deliver at the speed of elections.”
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“When Medicare passed, it took one year for the Medicare cards to go out.”
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“When Biden... passed negotiating down Medicare drug prices... the first time people will pay those lower prices is next year.”
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“The model where government doesn't deliver is also corrosive.”
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“Savage's view is that California is a kind of hellscape.”
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“You put a 3.5 million housing production goal.”
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“But you're not on track for either goal.”
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“I think of California having a big downturn in rents.”
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“With Trump's tariffs and deportations is getting worse on a bunch of levels.”
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“But we fundamentally tax income, not wealth.”
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“It is difficult to tax wealth. It is not impossible to tax wealth. I mean we used to have a strong or a stronger estate tax in this country…”
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“Is a society that has that level of wealth inequality a politically stable or inevitably just.”
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“Here's, I think the difficulty on taxes for Democrats people. I mean, polling on this is clear, including among many Republicans, people…”
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“Silicon Valley has become the epicenter of the global AI revolution.”
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“The culture of Silicon Valley has changed. The politics of it have changed very rapidly in this period.”
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“AI is going to be a big part of the next turn of politics.”
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“I don't think we really know what AI is going to do to the job market or when or to whom.”
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“The process of looking for a job has become hellish.”
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“You're sending endless resumes to dozens of places. They're being read by AI.”
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“Sometimes you're interviewing with AI.”
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“Everybody's using AI to apply. The AIs are reading the AI applicant.”
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“Growth and economic energy and activity have become unexpectedly in the digital era, more concentrated.”
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“Democrats won rural and urban counties at about the same rates not that long ago.”
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“There was a big push to, let's call it, phase out cars with internal combustion engines [in California].”
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“But we are that divided, actually.”
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