Duh! Jerry Brown Wonders How Many More People California can Accommodate



Jerry_Brown_5Everyone knows that California is in the midst of a historic and catastrophic drought. This has got Gov. Jerry Brown wondering out loud, “At some point, how many people can we accommodate?”

Good question. At 38 million people, California may soon be unable to meet this most basic resource need. And yet, even as California’s population growth is being fueled by immigration, the state government over which he presides continues to provide new incentives for illegal aliens to take up residence. On top of the many other benefits California has lavished on illegal aliens in recent years, a bill to fund health insurance for illegal aliens may soon be hitting his desk.

To be fair, agriculture accounts for about 80 percent of California’s water consumption and there are many wasteful practices in that industry which desperately need to be addressed. But an ever-growing population sure doesn’t help matters.

So perhaps it might be useful for Gov. Brown and the California Legislature to work through a simple Socratic multiple choice exercise. If California can’t meet the water needs of its current population, and immigration is driving population growth, state officials should:

  1. Stop incentivizing illegal immigration.
  2. Just keep doing what it’s doing.
  3. Pray for rain.

About Author

avatar

Ira joined the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in 1986 with experience as a journalist, professor of journalism, special assistant to Gov. Richard Lamm (Colorado), and press secretary of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. His columns have appeared in National Review, LA Times, NY Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and more. He is an experienced TV and radio commentator.

54 Comments

  1. avatar

    Our drought problem is more due to being overpopulated than from a shortage of rain. We have more people living here, at this point, than we have the basic necessities to supply them with. What’s next, a shortage of “Air”? I shouldn’t give them any ideas. They’ll start taxing us for the air we breathe.

  2. avatar
    Barbara Griffith on

    I hope that the Gov don’t think he can pipe water from one of the northern states like Washington state or countries like Canada because I doubt he would get anywhere. Just because it rains here in the winter I don’t think this states legislature would OK anything like that. But it would be a good idea to split the state into north and south because of its size for one. Other states that are like that seem to do fine.

  3. avatar

    “Treason doth never prosper. What’s the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.” – Ovid

  4. avatar
    Fred Hawkins on

    We have become a nation of political correctness advocates, unwilling or afraid to stop doing what we’re doing and tackle the enormous problems facing our country. California is a prime example.
    The foolish people there are ruining a state that used to be one of the models for our nation, just like the fools in Washington. Wringing your hands and wondering aloud how to get out of a financial mess when, at the same time welcoming more and more people to come in, illegally, when the state is awash with illegals is truly puzzling. My fear (in N. C.) is that many of the illegals in California will be coming to our state, joining the 800,000 already here, making our financial situation much worse than it already is. You know what people say, “what happens in California affects the whole country”.

    Good luck Californians. Throw the rascals out and reclaim your position in our nation.

    • avatar

      It used to be said if you wanted to see what America would look like in 5 years, just look at California. That’s a pretty frightening thought now.

      • avatar

        There is also a huge underground economy of illegal immigrants who do not pay taxes but demand services. In Arizona they capped welfare at one year.

  5. avatar
    David Hartman on

    Leaving CA was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

    I will never return.

      • avatar

        It’s what they want, to push us out of here. I’m fully convinced that CA is destined to become Northern Mexico.

  6. avatar

    Governor Brown is attached at the hip with Obama. Same agenda, the more illegals that come here the better. Cap & Trade that is killing productivity and new companies, a bullet train to a dead end costing 67 plus billions when this money can be spend on exploring for more water from the north with states such as Oregon and Washington.

  7. avatar

    To the person who cited a figure much lower than 80% for agricultural use of water – PLEASE CITE THE SOURCE. I’ve been looking for it.

  8. avatar

    When CA voters overwhemingly passed an initiative to cutoff welfare benefits for illegals in the 1990’s, the bill was about $2 billion per year. As a couple of judges on the CA Supreme Court invalidated the will of the people it
    is now costing over $12 billion per year.

    Recently as CA was billions in the red and a massive property tax hike covered the deficit and small business saw their taxes retroactive backbilled 5 years. You thought you paid your taxes but guess what, they now want a back five years more and they want it now. Since 2002, the US has created about 9 million new jobs but has imported about 18 million immigrants with 90% of new jobs going to immigrants, both legal and illegal. CA means a bankrupt safety net, skyhigh taxes and no water. Best to let moonbeam and other leeches swim in their own cesspool and adios the State while you still have your skin.

  9. avatar

    All I can say they had better stay out of Montana we don’t want a bunch of illegal aliens taking what few jobs we do have being taken from our Montanas and we don’t have the Money to give them all free medical. They just approved to provide 70 thousand more medicaid recipients based on their income. So we dont need a flow of Illegals from central America and Mexico or the thousands of Muslims that OBAMA keeps bring to our country. So we dont need or want all of these aliens come to our State and causing our State to go bankrupt. Just because Obama and his many idiots communist Democrats wants to overrun the country with a bunch of illegal from Mexico, or Central America and even more all the muslims they are bring to America and giving them all free passage and so that they can make it legal for non residents or citizens of the USA the right to vote. And so the democrats wants the States taken over by all the 100,000;s of thousand of illegal aliens and refugees, and all radical muslims scrub bag, ragheads who demand that he allow them to get all sorts of welfare and OBAMA IS FORCING THE STATES TO TAKE THE BURDEN OF ALL OF THESE REFUGEES AND REALLY IF IT WAS PEOPLE FROM CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO IT WOULDN’T BE AS BAD AS BRING ALL THESE RADICAL iSLAMIC MUSLIMS INTO OUR COUNTRY TO TRY AND TAKE PERMANENT CONTROL OF IT AND KILLING ALL CHRISTIANS. AND IF WE HAVE A GOVERNOR LIKE BROWN WHO IS ENCOURAGING ILLEGAL ALIENS TO COME TO THEIR STATE. AND SO IT PUTS A UNDUE STRAIN OF ALL THE RESOURCES AND THEY DEMAND MORE AND MORE AS OBAMA KEEPS LETTING MORE AND MORE MUSLIMS INTO THE COUNTRY. REALLY I WILL TAKE A 100 PEOPLE FROM THE SOUTH OF US OVER EVEN A COUPLE OF THESE RADICAL ISLAMIC PIG. SO UNTIL THESE IDIOT DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS AND BOTH HOUSE AND SENATE REPS GET GET HEADS OUT OF THEIR ASSES WE ARE GOING TO SEE MORE AND MORE ILLEGALS PUTTING MORE AND MORE STRAIN ON OUR RESOURCES AND GOVERNORS LIKE GOVERNOR BROWN HE IS GOING TO DEMAND THAT OTHER STATES USE THEIR RESOURCES TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR STATE WHICH PUTS A STRAIN ON THE OTHER STATES LIKE MONTANA WHERE WE HAVE LIKE AT LEAST 5 HEAD WATER AND 4 BIG DAMS ON THE MISSOURI RIVER AND SO LIKE YEARS AGO WE HAD TO OPEN OUR DAMS AND LET ALL OF OUR RIVERS FLOW FREELY WHICH TAKES A TOLL ON OUR WATER FOR OUR CROPS AND ANIMALS JUST SO BROWN CAN TAKE MORE AND MORE ILLEGAL INTO THEIR STATES. SO HIS DECISIONS DONT JUST AFFECT CALIFORNIA BUT IT AFFECTS MONTANA, NORTH DAKOTAS IDAHO.WYOMING COLORADO AND ALL THE OTHER STATES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE RIVER’S FLOW IT HEADS FOR THE WET COAST. SO WE ALL HAVE TO SUFFER SO THAT WE CAN TAKE CARE OF ALL THE EXTRA PEOPLE BROWN AND OBAMA ARE LETTING INTO OUR COUNTRY. THEY ARE TAKING OUR JOBS, GETTING FREE ,MEDICAL THAT YES WE PAY FOR, SNAP SECTION 8 THAT PAYS THEIR RENT. AND NOW OBAMA WANTS THEM ALL TO GET SOCIAL SECURITY, EARNED INCOME CREDIT AND CHILD CREDIT AND ALL THE SAME THINGS AS WE AS AMERICANS GET. .IT’S GETTING TO BE TOO MUCH WATCHING EVERYTHING THE COMMUNIST DEMOCRATS AND OBAMA HAS GOTTEN US INTO. AND IF WE GET ANOTHER DEMOCRAT IN OFFICE THEN EVERYTHING WE KNOW WILL BE
    GONE.

    • avatar

      Minnesota………. we already have the largest Somali population…… and we also have the second largest Asian population in the USA., the largest being also in California.

      The largest state in the USA by population is California. The latest estimate recorded California’s official population as 38.7 million.

      If California was a country, it would be the 36th most populous in the world, slightly larger than Poland. It’s economy would be the eighth largest economy in the world, with roughly the same GDP as Italy, a European country of 61 million people. Interestingly, though, although California is the largest state in the United States of America, it isn’t the largest state in the continent of North America – that honor goes to Brazil’s state of Sao Paulo.

      The future is scary. Too many people, depleting natural resources, lack of jobs, global warming. I think in the long run paying people to not have children might have to be the way America goes.

  10. avatar

    There are already too many people in California, which water use restrictions are the testimony of, and yet the Governor is beginning to worry that, in the future, to many people may try to come to this state.

    He is either naive or is trying to obfuscate the obvious.

    • avatar

      Jerry Brown is a complete and total IDIOT. He is not naïve or trying to obfuscate the obvious. He is socialist and communist. How are the people of Mexifornia so stupid to elect him and some of the others like Boxer, Pelosi and the Me4xican idiot that presented the bill to give illegals free healthcare.

  11. avatar

    Not only are our taxes too high but with the secret provisions included/hidden in “O”scare, Our TAXES will sky rocket. I wish I knew how many Federal tax dollars go to keep CA off the Bankruptcy roils. It wouldn’t matter because our corrupt Senators & Congressmen/women don’t listen to their constituents. Consider this: I retired from the service after serving 20 years. I draw 50% of my base pay. A Congressman/woman serves one term & retires with full pay! Any justice there? How did this come about? They are so elite that they voted their pay & retirement for themselves. Check & see how much time they really spend on the business of running our Nation. From the time they are sworn in, they start campaigning for their next election. They don’t take as many vacations as “O” does but they take more than their share. Its great to be an American! God Bless America!

    • avatar

      They Re NOT elite. Most of them were maneuvered into the Legislature, by means of propaganda, indoctrination, and mass importation of persuadable voters, for political reasons and not for their exceptional talents and loyalty to the State of California and the US. They inflict more and more damage to the state due to their mediocre, at the best, problem-solving skills and IQs.

      They are a ruling clique that is anti-elite. And that is one of the root causes of economic and social worsening of California.

  12. avatar

    I guess the people of CA deserve whatever he hands our since they keep reelecting him.

    • avatar

      That is not exactly the case. Unfortunately, it is the size of the campaign budget that is usually the deciding factor in an election, and not the genuine preferences of the voters, many of them simply do what the are told to do by the TV stations they watch.

      As of now, California is a union state, compliments of the Democratic Party. Thich means that everybody, union member or not, has to pay union dues if he works for an organization (for instance, for the State of California) or not. The unions here became fund-raising agencies for the Democratic Party. And then Democratic candidates have better funded campaigns then their challengers. This arrangement is nothing short of scam and I wonder why FBI has not investigated it yet.

      Anyway, the claim that Californians elected Gov. Brown is about as true as the claim that Americans elected Prez. Obama. Neither would have had any chances if it weren’t for several decades of well-funded manipulations whose goal was to chande the outomes of free elections.

  13. avatar

    California has given away all the prosperity it once had. Thanks to the socialistic Democratic Party, California can no longer support itself and has schools that were once the best now in the middle of the national ratings. Tax and spend is all they know. The nation needs to see that California is the barometer of what the socialistic Democrats have for the nation. The Chinese already own us with all our debt at 18.2 trillion dollars and it is expected to be around 26.2 trillion when Dumbo leaves office.

    • avatar

      All these government do good programs sound nice but there doesn’t seem to be any limit on the numbers and purpose. . It seems to me the Liberals are trying to compete with Heaven. Those seemingly in need are increasing at an increasing rate with no end in site. America’s lands are plenty but the resources for the subsistence of life are out numbered by the tremendous influx of illegal immigrations. They come bearing only the clothes on their back and expect our government to supply all their necessities and more, free, to them. Everything needs balance or there will be catastrophic results. The whole world is heading in a perilous direction.brought on by the quest for power and wealth.

    • avatar

      “O” may not leave office. He has signed a law permitting him to declare martial law. If in his last few months of tenure, he spots an occasion to do so, he could declare martial law & himself as dictator for life. Brown may become his associate dictator!

  14. avatar

    The demise of Mexifornia is the democratic party and its radical left wing ideas that have taken this state into the dumper on more issues than just water. There is a growing move afoot to make two states out of one. From Sacramento county north to the Oregon border would be the new state of Northern California. The southern half can stagger under the load of left wing stupidity and laws we do not want up here. Let the Mexican invasion and the billions of tax dollars they cost legal citizens go down together with Brown and his democrats. They deserve each other. Up here we want to part of either one.

    • avatar

      I’m astounded that the stupid Californians reelected Brown. He nearly bankrupted them during his first term. They must be gluttons for punishment. Their high taxes have driven many businesses to move to TX. Keep up the good work Brown. TX needs all the income we can get.

      • avatar

        How about if I were surprised that the Americans re-elected Pres. Obama? Do you think it was because of the genuine will of the people? I think, it was well-funded and well-orchestrated “marketing” (some use term “propaganda”) that was among the real reasons why they got re-elected.

      • avatar

        Frank,

        The Democrats got majority control of the state long before Brown was elected for his 3rd term. Even with so many stupid people in Los Angeles, I’m not really sure Brown would’ve won his 4th term without the help of the union vote counters.

        The Dems have taken complete control of the election process in most of the major populated areas of California
        to the point that Republicans aren’t even bothering to challenge the Dems any longer. The Dems are not interested in fair elections. They are only interested in total domination of the country.

        And, yes, California has lost hundreds of businesses to the state of TX because of our out of control regulations, high taxes and the general steep cost of running a business out here.

        But, I suspect most of those businesses that fled to TX didn’t bother to leave their politics in CA and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that they still vote for Democrats, if for no other reason than out of habit.

        And if they do, Texas will be turning as blue as Austin already is, with Dallas and Houston close behind.

        The Dems never admit to screwing up anything themselves. It’s always the Republicans fault for anything bad that happens.

        But the Dems had complete control of Detroit for decades and ran it into the ground all by themselves.
        They do that to every city that they get control of. Then the very people that voted for them find it harder and harder to stay in business, so they pack up and go to somewhere with a more friendly business climate and repeat the same process over again and again.

        Did Governor Rick Perry ever mention anything about this to the citizens of TX? He was probably more concerned with having an impressive job creations program that he could brag about during his run for president than any unintended consequences of importing enough Dems to turn the state blue.

        But, I’m guessing that wasn’t one of his selling points to Texans when he was bragging about all the businesses and jobs into the Lone Star State.

  15. avatar

    DUH DUH DUH Jerry Brown, pathetic. If you want water in abundance Jerry Brown, put some de-salinators on the coast and make pure clean water in abundance. That’s right put a few large facilities on the coast that take ocean water, de-salt it, this is desalination. It has been in use decades. Discharge the brine back in to the ocean or do what you will to use it. This is common knowledge, except to Jerry Brown.

    • avatar

      The environmentalists control the Dems, who control CA. And because of the environmentalists, California hasn’t spent any money to increased it’s water storage capacity for almost 4 decades. And in that time the population has grown by 17 million, according to local media.

      San Diego did began construction of a desalination plant years ago and it’s apparently coming on line this summer to help them with their water supply. But none of the Democrat politicians in this state have anything good to say about it, at least I haven’t heard it if they did.

      They trot out the usual, Desalination plants use an enormous amount of energy to convert sea water into drinking water, so it’s not worth it.

      Gov Brown and the wacko Sacromentalo Democrats believe the solution that will solve the water shortage is to fine the citizens of the state for using the amount of water they’d always been able to use in the past.

      There are many communities in Los Angeles where the residence would be fined for not keeping their grass green and manicured to perfection. I heard a Fireman on the radio a couple of days ago saying that with no one being able to water their lawns, any fire will have plenty of fuel to burn right up to the houses. So he expects more structures will burn when fires break out this year.

      Good Job Jerry Brown!

  16. avatar

    Agriculture does NOT use 80% of the water in Ca! Environmental water use is 50% they don’t have to prove its doing a damned bit of good. Everyone does NOT talk about that at all! Agriculture uses about 40.8% and are the best water conservationists around and they feed most of the USA with fruits, Veges, milk, meat, chicken, nuts and so much more. They pay water districts big bucks even tho they are getting 0 water from them. I guess when prices get so freaking high people might react. Plus when people start getting sick from eating food produced in Mexico and beyond maybe we will see some help for farmers instead of protecting a fish that is not indigenous to the Delta and trucking salmon from the valley to the Delta and expect them to return is absurd! That river will never again support salmon because the water is too warm! Our leaders are so damned stupid!
    BTW, where is Leland Yee, the man that was running for another election, that was anti gun but heavily involved with Chinese gun running??! Getting his 6 digit salary at Home! I hate this state!

    • avatar
      clay williams on

      Here’s a State that is bounded by Hundreds of miles of Ocean…why do we never hear the word “DESALINCATION”?

      • avatar

        Thank you .I wish more people felt the same way. I was born and raised in this state and I am beginning to hate this state. Now I want out. I have been screaming about building desalination plants since I was a teen. But It’s to hard to fight the liberals. I am tired the Browns being voted in office and wasting money and putting us in the red. The liberals won’t listen. This is the fourth time I have to deal with the Browns and I have had it . And I have had It with the illegal immigration taking from this state and us.

        • avatar

          funny thing is,the ones that are saying they hate it there,still probably vote for the same people,because after all,it is not my elected official that is doing no good,it is all the other ones

      • avatar

        Probably because desalinization is a very energy intensive expensive solution. It is done in the middle east where petroleum is much cheaper, but even there it is done only on a very limited scale. Much cheaper and more environmentally friendly to control immigration.

        • avatar

          The Brown regime won’t curtail immigration, legally or illegally, while they are in control.

    • avatar
      Sandra Roberts on

      Well, everything is true Bev that you write about, but I do not hate my state. I work to make it better. Yes, we are in ag (AVOS). I work to make my state better. I joined a Tea Party to get info on state and federal issues. I joined
      Election Ingegrity to keep our voting fair for our state. I email Jerry Brown don’t know if that helps or not, but I do it anyway.
      Thanks for writing Bev

    • avatar

      I believe he & “O” are destroying our Nation intentionally! I understand why “O” is since he is a muslim. I can’t understand what Brown has to gain by destroying CA.

    • avatar

      The latter! Too bad your election system can’t discern that deceased Republicans in many States that are now voting Democrat! Illegal immigration increases the Democratic Party rolls & keeps corrupt individuals in office so they can get rich & walk on us peasants. Keeping people on welfare also increases the Democratic Party Rolls. Why work if the Government will support them?

  17. avatar

    He didn’t seem to have any of those concerns when the president of Mexico visited California a few months ago and good old Jerry said that any Mexican, legal or illegal, was “welcome” in that state. Of course, FAIR and other organizations like it have been saying for years that population growth fueled by immigration was hurting the state. But then it was called racism. So what is it when Brown says the same thing? Are all the so called “advocates” going to castigate him? No, because they’re phonies and hypocrites.

  18. avatar

    Like the old saying goes, “you reap what you sew”! And the imbeciles that have pervaded CA’s government for decades, have only compounded a continued liberal/progressive demented mentality that’s crippling that state, and burdening the rest of the U.S. along with it.