---

 ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Sept-2023/076g.jpg)

 [ VOICES ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=375)

#  Is California Turning into a Dust Bowl?

September 21 2023

Written by Michael Weinstein.

<a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a><a class="a2a_button_print"></a>[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)

GUEST COMMENTARY - A young cousin of mine recently moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. She and her boyfriend were lured by a $10,000 grant each of them got as remote workers during COVID. Plus, the average cost of a home in Tulsa is $195,000 which made it affordable for her.

My bicoastal family was confused why anyone would move to Oklahoma. Yet, in just the two years between April 2020 and July 2022, 700,000 Californians decamped to places east, west, north, and south. The irony of the film running in reverse should not escape us. Hordes abandoned the grinding poverty of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl in the 1930s for the better life in California. Today, for so many, the life in Tulsa is so much easier than in Los Angeles.

So much of what made California golden in tarnished. Life here now is cruelly expensive and lacking the optimism that has defined California throughout history. The human tragedy of homelessness is everywhere. The hidden scourge of rent poverty is even more pervasive. Rather than being the ultimate “can do” place, we now are gripped by a gnawing pessimism. Pursing your dreams has been replaced by keeping your nose above water.

Living in Oklahoma was unthinkable to my bicoastal family who migrated to California from New York over the last two generations. We covet living in the liberal bubble of the Left Coast. We only can live in a place with people who think like us. We fully subscribe to the California Dream of outdoor living, embracing diversity, and celebrating freedom. Yet one of our very own picked up stakes and doesn't seem to be looking back.

I love Los Angeles. So much of who and what I am and what I have accomplished came from this land of milk and honey. But that’s not the Los Angeles that so attracted me when I came here in 1972. At the time, LA was a great place to be poor. I lived on $300 a month. My tiny furnished apartment at the President Wilson on Wilshire and Union cost me $100 a month, including utilities. It had a Murphy bed and a little breakfast nook. It was a whole lot better and cheaper than any apartment I could have gotten in New York City.

More than anything, what attracted me to LA was the freedom I felt here. Self-discovery beyond the stereotype of your ethnicity or sexuality was not just possible, it was celebrated. The pecking order was a lot less tradition-bound than back east. However, how can you feel free now when the average apartment costs more than you can earn working a fulltime minimum wage job?

My first entry level job in LA was at Occidental Insurance. I made $550 a month. I had a poor but comfortable life. That is impossible today which makes me wonder how it got this way. How did housing become a commodity controlled by corporations? What happened to the mom-and-pop landlords?

As liberal as California may be, it is ruled by corporate interests who are not satisfied unless they can wring every last penny out of their real estate investments. Multinational corporations like Blackstone have swooped in and now dominate California politically and economically. Big money shouts and our political leaders cower. We previously enjoyed a charmed life which allowed us to be politically apathetic, but those days are over. The California Dream will die if we aren't willing to fight for it.

The place to start is to make affordable housing a human right. We need to make our political leaders accountable to us rather than mega corporations. Leaders such as Gavin Newsom, who has attached himself to Big Real Estate, needs to be held responsible for the housing crisis he enabled as the mayor of San Francisco and the governor of California.

California still is a land of freedom. Hopefully, it can be restored as a land of opportunity for everyone - not just the super-rich.

*(Michael Weinstein is the co-founder and president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a global HIV/AIDS medical-care nonprofit based in Los Angeles.)*

 [ ![save up to 4000 on used evs](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20ev%20ad2.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")

 [ ![Donna Tryfman](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/ADS%20FOR%202026/Donna-Tryfman-Ad-Final-Complete-Border-White-Margin.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")

 [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)")

 [ ![David DeJute Campaign](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/ADS%20FOR%202026/DejuteAd.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")

 [ ![Pay Water Bill Help](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20-%20cares-ad.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")

 [ ![Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/ADS%20FOR%202026/reitano%20vertical%20rework.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")

 ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png)

## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays &amp; Thursdays

 Message

 ---

##  Featured CityWatch Stories

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/1c/072d-1c016ddf.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33319:when-the-last-minute-power-play-failed-sacramento-finally-ran-out-of-time&catid=375)

### [When the Last-Minute Power Play Failed: Sacramento Finally Ran Out of Time](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33319:when-the-last-minute-power-play-failed-sacramento-finally-ran-out-of-time&catid=375)

MY THOUGHTS - Gavin Newsom came to the final days of his final regular legislative session with one more major problem…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/4d/073e-4dc54bff.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33336:may-day-international-workers-day-a-major-us-holiday-ignored-by-the-media&catid=398)

### [May Day/International Workers Day, a Major US Holiday Ignored By The Media](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33336:may-day-international-workers-day-a-major-us-holiday-ignored-by-the-media&catid=398)

PLANNING WATCH - Monday, September 7, 2026, was Labor Day, a holiday only celebrated in the United States and Canada as…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/4e/072i-4e4914dd.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33314:olympics-la28s-drip-drip-drip-tactics-leave-los-angeles-holding-the-bag&catid=312)

### [Olympics: LA28’s Drip‑Drip‑Drip Tactics Leave Los Angeles Holding the Bag](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33314:olympics-la28s-drip-drip-drip-tactics-leave-los-angeles-holding-the-bag&catid=312)

NICK'S VIEW - Wonderland Los Angeles, a global symbol of dreams, myths, and possibilities, will take center stage at th…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/e7/072b-e7b222d1.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33321:1-billion-later-congress-comes-knocking-los-angeles-homelessness-machine-faces-its-day-of-reckoning&catid=396)

### [$1 Billion Later, Congress Comes Knocking: Los Angeles’ Homelessness Machine Faces Its Day of Reckoning](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33321:1-billion-later-congress-comes-knocking-los-angeles-homelessness-machine-faces-its-day-of-reckoning&catid=396)

THE BOTTOM LINE - For years, Los Angeles taxpayers have been told the same thing about homelessness: Give us more money…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/09/073i-0998df2d.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33330:cd3-doesnt-need-another-promise-it-needs-a-councilmember-who-can-deliver&catid=401)

### [CD3 Doesn’t Need Another Promise It Needs a Councilmember Who Can Deliver](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33330:cd3-doesnt-need-another-promise-it-needs-a-councilmember-who-can-deliver&catid=401)

THE BOTTOM LINE - Los Angeles voters have heard the promises before: safer streets, cleaner neighborhoods, more housing…

---

##  [ VOICES ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=375)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Sept-2026/072d.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33319:when-the-last-minute-power-play-failed-sacramento-finally-ran-out-of-time&catid=375)### [When the Last-Minute Power Play Failed: Sacramento Finally Ran Out of Time](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33319:when-the-last-minute-power-play-failed-sacramento-finally-ran-out-of-time&catid=375)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Sept-2026/073g.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33332:the-masses-are-asses&catid=375)### [The Masses are Asses](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33332:the-masses-are-asses&catid=375)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Sept-2026/073f.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33334:smooth-sailing-at-sea-troubled-waters-at-city-hall&catid=375)### [Smooth Sailing at Sea, Troubled Waters at City Hall](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33334:smooth-sailing-at-sea-troubled-waters-at-city-hall&catid=375)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Sept-2026/073c.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33340:trumps-tit-for-tat-a-toilet-bowl-palooza&catid=375)### [Trump's Tit For Tat. A Toilet Bowl Palooza](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33340:trumps-tit-for-tat-a-toilet-bowl-palooza&catid=375)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Sept-2026/073b.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33331:lshanah-tovah-wishing-you-and-your-family-a-sweet-healthy-and-peaceful-new-year&catid=375)### [L’Shanah Tovah — Wishing You And Your Family A Sweet, Healthy And Peaceful New Year](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33331:lshanah-tovah-wishing-you-and-your-family-a-sweet-healthy-and-peaceful-new-year&catid=375)
<div data-id="1" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-emailform eb-1 eboxContentLocker"
	data-options='{"trigger":"onPageLoad","trigger_selector":"","delay":3000,"early_trigger":true,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":1,"reverse_scroll_close":true,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":10000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"slideInDown","animation_close":"fadeOutDown","animation_duration":400,"disable_page_scroll":true,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #1 - Global Email Signup Form","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog eb-formVer" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog1" aria-label="dialog1">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<form action="https://citywatchla.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=34d69f33624fd058ee9b56516&amp;id=4bfa422f51&amp;f_id=00d6c2e1f0" class="eb" method="post" id="mcform-1" name="mcform-1" target="_blank">
			<div class="eb-form-header"><p><img src="/images/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png" alt="be a city watcher" width="350" height="97" loading="lazy" data-path="local-images:/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png"></p>
<p>Sign up to receive our special e-news blasts on Monday and Thursday evenings!</p></div>
	
					<div class="eb-field-row">

			
			
			
			<input class="eb-input" type="email" name="EMAIL"  placeholder="Email address"  id="EMAIL" value="" required>

			
		</div>
										
	<div class="eb-footer">
    	<button class="eb-btn" type="submit" name="subscribe" style="background-color:rgba(93, 183, 93, 1);color:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)">
    		Sign up    	</button>
    </div>
</form>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>
<div data-id="3" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-yesno eb-3 "
	data-options='{"trigger":"onScrollDepth","trigger_selector":"","delay":0,"early_trigger":false,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":2,"reverse_scroll_close":false,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":1000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"fadeInUp","animation_close":"fadeOut","animation_duration":300,"disable_page_scroll":false,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #3 - Yes \/ No Donation Popup Box","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog " role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog3" aria-label="dialog3">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<div class="ebox-yes-no">
	<div class="ebox-yn-text">
		
		
		<div class="ebox-yn-headline" style="font-size:22px;color:#888888">
			<p>If you only give once a month, would you consider giving to CityWatch?</p>
<p>Your support fuels our mission to promote and facilitate civic engagement and neighborhood empowerment, and to hold area government and its politicians accountable.</p>
<p>Would you like to help? Even if you can only give $5, it will make a difference.</p>		</div>
			</div>
	
	<div class="ebox-ys-buttons" style="font-size: 16px;">
		
<a
					data-ebox-prevent="0"
		data-ebox-cmd="close"
				target="_self"
		href="https://www.citywatchla.com/donate"
		rel="noopener"
	
	
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#2ec664;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Yes
	</a>
<a
	
	
			data-ebox-cmd="close"
		href="#"
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#ef2345;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Not Right Now
	</a>	</div>

	</div>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>