California Governor Gavin Newsom is deflecting the blame for his state's massive homeless crisis...
"Folks that were on the street when we left, the vast majority were not from California... The vast majority were coming from - and we know this - from Texas. Just interesting fact."
But according to PolitiFact, Newsom's allegations during an Axios HBO interview are a "Pants on Fire-level" untruth. The watchdog group reports, "Newsom’s statement is contradicted by San Francisco’s own point in time homeless counts. Those reports are conducted every two years. They consistently show a large majority of people surveyed said they lived in San Francisco prior to becoming homeless."
Texas Public Policy Foundation Vice President Chuck DeVore says if Newsom wants to know who to blame, the 22-year politician needs to look in the mirror...
"He's had responsibility for the policies that have created California's homeless crisis."
DeVore was a California Assemblyman for six year before relocating to Texas. He tells "Fox & Friends" Governor Newsom should follow Texas' lead rather than falsely place blame...
"California has a very high cost of living. It has very burdensome regulations and taxes. There's more freedom in places like Texas; more opportunity to do what you want to do."
DeVore says the homeless crisis in California has grown because of three major policy failings...
"They make it too difficult and too expensive to build houses. The botched criminal justice reform - where they emphasized reducing the prison population rather than improving public safety. And lastly, they're having a tremendous problem dealing with mentally ill people."