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Gov. Newsom says poverty, homelessness 'poster child' of California's failures

Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a podcast interview that homelessness and poverty are the "poster child" for the state's failures on Wednesday.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a new podcast interview that homelessness and poverty were the poster child of the state's failures and said the affordability and housing crisis was the "original sin."

"The Ezra Klein Show" host Ezra Klein asked Newsom about his interview with Michael Savage earlier this year, during which the conservative radio host said, "So Gavin, the homeless thing is the turning point. When that man defecated outside the window, that was the beginning of the end of San Francisco, not only for me but for the whole city."

Klein asked Newsom if he believed there was a set of problems in the state that was harder for him to see as governor.

"Well, the affordability crisis, he’s 100% right. The poster child of our failure as a state is the issue of poverty that’s out on the streets and sidewalks as it relates to encampments and homelessness," Newsom responded.

Homeless people and tents are seen at a homeless camp on a sidewalk on Aug. 6, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a rally on Nov. 8, 2025, in Houston, Texas. ? (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

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However, the governor argued that the people who complain about California still very much love the state and have either grown up in the state or made money in it. He pointed to Elon Musk's Space X and X headquarters starting in the state, though Musk has moved them out of California.

"What they don’t like is the progressive taxes," Newsom said. "It’s the progressive tax — they want to take their capital gains someplace else, which I deeply understand. Its homeless, housing and transportation problems are legendary. It’s a mass exodus."

His point, he said, was that "California derangement syndrome" wasn't new.

A homeless encampment on the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, Thursday, May 9, 2024.? (Toby Canham for Fox News Digital)

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Newsom acknowledged during the interview that the affordability crisis in California was real.

"It’s been the original sin going back decades and decades. Housing — period, full stop. More things and more ways on more days. Explains everything. It’s the original sin in California. NIMBYism — we haven’t gotten out of our own way. We haven’t produced enough housing stock. It’s Economics 101: supply and demand. It’s not very complicated," he said.

"Nimby" stands for "not in my backyard," and refers to opposition from residents with regard to new developments or housing projects.

The governor said he changed how the state approached homelessness and housing issues and said, "We completed 110,000 housing units last year. It’s completely, completely underwhelming. And so we have more work to do."

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at the 2025 New York Times DealBook Summit in New York City on Dec. 3, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Newsom announced a multibillion-dollar plan to tackle the homeless crisis in his state in May, which included a push for cities to take action.

Newsom shared a model ordinance for cities and counties to "immediately address dangerous and unhealthy encampments and connect people experiencing homelessness with shelter and services."

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"There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets," Newsom said in a news release at the time.