Glenn has an idea: Perhaps the rest of the 49 United States should begin completely ignoring California from here on out. Why? In this clip, Glenn shares two stories that prove California’s INSANITY has gone TOO FAR. Because soon California's crazy policies could affect prices for ALL OF US, whether you live there or not. And Glenn is sick and tired of this: ‘If you want to do that in your state, do that in your state,’ he says. ‘[But] I don't have to be dragged along with it.’
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: I would like to make the case that we move away from California. And we don't have to -- I mean, sure, maybe. Call me an extremist. It started out as a 50-star flag. I just took the seem ripper, and took all of the stars off for New York and California. Oh, and I'm considering other states.
But I would like to make the case, that we just ignore California from here on out.
Two stories: September 30th, California Energy Commission wrote executives at five oil companies, gas companies, demanding answers for sharp price increases at California gas pumps.
The letter accused the oil and gas companies of profiteering. And claimed the oil industry owes California answers for not having provided an adequate and transparent explanation for this price spike.
Well, they -- they answered yesterday in a letter for Valero, California, is the most expensive operating environment in the country, and very hostile regulatory environment for refining.
California policy makers have knowingly adopted policies with the express intent of eliminating the refinery sector. California requires refiners to pay a very high carbon cap and tax trade fees, and be burdened with gasoline, with the cost of the low carbon fuel standards. With the backdrop of these policies, not surprisingly, they wrote, California has seen refineries completely close or shut down major units.
When you shut down a refinery operation, you limit resilience of the supply chain.
STU: What?
GLENN: I think they were speaking slowly in this letter.
STU: You can picture a person typing with one finger, angrily on the keyboard. If you ever do this again!
GLENN: Moreover, California is largely isolated from fuel markets of the central and eastern US, and state regulations mandate, a unique blend of gasoline, which makes California the most challenging market to serve.
California has also imposed some of the Maos aggressive and thus, expensive and limiting environmental regulatory requirements in the world. California policies have made it difficult to increase refining capacity, and have prevented supply projects to lower operating costs of the refineries.
Sincerely. Now, California, the governor who is right on top of this stuff, he's calling for a special session to address the greed of oil companies. Gas prices are too high. Time to enact a windfall profit stacks, directly on oil companies, that are ripping you off at the pump.
And that's only going to make things better. Okay.
I don't know if I've mentioned this, but 17 states have voluntarily signed up for all of California's nonsense when it comes to emissions. Okay?
So anything they do, 17 states, hello, Virginia, you're -- your legislature just decided. You know what, we'll sign up. We don't need to bring this to the people for a vote. We'll just sign up.
Here, sign this. It's late at night. And they pushed it through. And now it's law.
Anything that California does, you have to do too.
Oh. So if California jumps off a bridge? Yes. Yeah.
You're going to jump off the bridge too. Now, let me give you -- let me give you a second story here. The Supreme Court will hear arguments over a California animal cruelty law, that would raise the cost of bacon and other pork products, nationwide. The case's outcome is important to the nation's 26-billion-dollar a year pork industry.
But the outcome also could limit state's abilities to pass laws with impact outside their borders.
Good!
If you want to do that, in your state, do that in your state.
I don't have to be dragged along with it. From laws aimed at combating climate change to others intended to regulate prescription drug cases. The case before the court on Tuesday, oh, my gosh, that's today. California's Proposition 12, which voters passed in 2018. It said, pork sold in the state needs to come from pigs, whose mothers were raised with at least 24 square feet of space, including the ability to lie down and turn around.
The rules -- that rules out confined gestation crates. Metal enclosures that are common in the pork industry.
They also say the way the pork market works, with cuts of meat from various producers, being combined before sale, it is likely all pork would have to meet California standards, regardless of where it sold.
That will cost the industry about $350 million a year. Guess who is going to pay for it?
You. Now, I'm all for being decent too animals. I don't eat veal. Because you don't keep an animal in the crate the whole time. I have a problem with it. But I don't eat veal. I don't employees my values on everyone else. And I'm sick and tired of California, doing this for us.
I am sick and tired, of -- now I'm going to pay more for bacon. Okay.
Oh. And also, this involves the meat industry. And the egg industry.
So we're going to pay more for, wow. It's almost like California doesn't want us to eat meat, or use any kind of animal products. Wow, that's completely weird.
Who would have seen that one coming?
I can't take it anymore. Why doesn't the pork industry just say -- and, quite honestly, the oil industry. Okay. Well, you're on your own.
Why don't -- seriously, why don't we let California just live in its own slop?
STU: Well, Glenn, it's a big market. And there's a lot of people there. And they would sell a lot of pork products there. And they don't want to lose that market.
And that does seem to be their --
GLENN: I'm willing to have ham for dinner. I don't like ham. I'm willing to have ham for dinner for a year, if you guys can just say, you know what, the rest of the country, we're tired of California.
STU: Well, and this seems to be an issue, that is really bothering big meat producers.
GLENN: Yeah.
STU: If this were to happen, and we were to say, well, we'll just we're going to California, they'll do what they do, what would likely occur is you'll have some of those big pork manufacturers would probably, you know, try to adopt those standards because California is a big market, it's a big chunk of their business. But you would have a lot of small producers, who will be like, well, I'm not doing that. I'm going to sell to Iowa and Texas and Florida. So they would wind up --
GLENN: Sure. Wait a minute. So a are you saying that it would be like a free market system.
STU: Some people would do it. Some people wouldn't.
GLENN: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
STU: I know. But it's interesting the way you're talking about this.
GLENN: Wow. Write this day down.
STU: The coverage of it, sort of presenting it as the right-wing position, is to take up this aggressive form of Commerce Clause. And -- and go the other way. Make it so California is not able to have these standards, because it would affect the commerce of other states.
GLENN: Yeah. I don't mind if they have those standards.
They can have those standards. And I have a right as a board producer to say, I'm not selling to California. Screw you.
STU: Screw you.
GLENN: But California does not have the right to increase the cost of my food. My cost of living. I don't want California dictating what I do.
I don't live in California, for a reason.
And California is being held up as a model for the United States. This is what they do for the United States. I don't want to live there.
STU: This is totally intentional too. They realize they have enough economic power, too change their standards, to enforce it on everybody else.
GLENN: Yes. Yes. Exactly right.
STU: And with 17 states on beard, no matter what they do. Think about that, if you live in one of these states. You don't have a representative.
GLENN: No, you don't.
STU: You've outsourced your entire leadership to Gavin Newsom.
GLENN: Yeah. Congratulations.
STU: We don't have the list. You said Virginia is on there?
GLENN: Virginia is on there. Virginia is on there. I did a podcast with their lieutenant governor, who I love. And she was telling me, she said, Glenn, we're not California. We don't have that many vehicles. We don't have, you know, I don't know, it's 20 percent of all cars in California. I don't know the number. You'll have to look it up. But a good percentage of cars on the road in California, are electric.
Not Virginia. And so now they have to adopt the same standards, and have the electric vehicles. That's going to throw Virginians into absolute turmoil when any of this hits.
Is anybody standing up about it? Anybody thinking about it? Anybody saying anything? It is time to end the madness.
Pork producers, stop doing business with California.
I know. States make a lot of money, on generating their power. What are you doing? Why?
The -- you really -- they want you to be out of the coal business.
They're working actively to put you out of business. Why would you generate any power for a -- for a state, that is imposing regulations on you, to put you out of power?
Let them feel the full weight of their decisions. Oh, gosh, darn it. Oh. You don't like coal.
Yeah. Okay. Off!
It makes no sense. We are enabling them. They are out of control alcoholics, and we're serving them drinks. At some point, you have to ask: Who is responsible here?
I mean, I am not the person that says, hey. The bartender needs to know when somebody is drunk. But if you have somebody on the floor, volume I go to, and they're completely incapable of walking. And they're like, this is lovely, I think you do have some responsibility.
It's time to let the alcoholic hit bottom.
Pork producers, say enough. Anybody who is producing energy for California, what the hell is wrong with you?
Somebody needs to stand up and say no to California.
STU: You have 17 states that have agreed to a concept, where they go out to the bar with the alcoholic, and match them drink for drink.
GLENN: Right.
And the guy from Virginia or whatever -- you know, some of these states. They're in the bar like, I don't want to be in the bar. I don't -- I don't want another drink. Okay?
What are we doing? Stop it.
