WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD THE A’S WANT TO LEAVE OAKLAND?

April 23, 20223

Rob Lauer Political Reporter

Homeless. On July 10, 2022, the homeless encampment in Oakland at 34th and Wood streets went up in flames from a meth lab. According to a September 2022 report from the City Auditor, Courtney Ruby, covering a three-year period ending in 2021, a span in which Oakland spent nearly $70 million on programs aimed at helping homeless residents obtain permanent housing, the homeless population doubled in Oakland. Homeless in California have the right to camp on any sidewalk, anywhere, at any time. Teams of lawyers are just waiting to pounce on any property owner or cops that shoo away homeless from the doorstep of a home or business.

Crime. The crime rate in Oakland is 270% higher than the average city in America. The total crime rate in Oakland is 6,457 per 100,000 people. The national average is 2,346 crimes per 100,000 people. According to FBI crime statistics, you are twice as likely to be raped in Oakland, four times more likely to be robbed, and almost 5 times more likely to be murdered. To make matters worse, radical leftists on the Oakland City Council actually defunded the police last year, cutting more than $20 million from the police budget. And this was after Oakland experienced one of the worst murder rates in a decade in 2021, with more than 133 killings.

Housing. According to Rocket Homes, the median home price in Oakland is $922,270. When you add in local property taxes and fees, that translates into a monthly payment of more than $7,000 plus insurance. Compared that to Las Vegas, which currently has a median home price of $409,965.

Taxes. Nevada has no personal or corporate income taxes. California’s highest tax rate is currently 12.3%, and income over $1 million is subject to an additional 1% tax surcharge for 13.3%. So a baseball player making $1 million will pay about $130K in State income taxes, while in Nevada he will pay ZERO. That also applies to the A’s organization as well. BTW, the City of Oakland charges residents an additional .05% income tax.

Unemployment. Oakland’s unemployment rate among the majority population, which is African Americans, was 8.9% and whites had an unemployment rate of 4.2%. Las Vegas unemployment rate for all of last year was 5.40%. But in all fairness, Nevada had the worst unemployment rate in the nation under Sisolak.

Attendance. The average attendance at Oakland Athletics games in 2022 was 9,973. The Las Vegas Golden Knights average attendance last year was 18,027. Las Vegas Aviators, a minor league base ball team, averaged 6,910 fans last year. And that’s in an open stadium during the summer months at 117 degrees.

To be clear, the Oakland A’s are moving out of Oakland, California, for the same reason thousands of  California business owners and their families move every month. The numbers don’t lie; only Democrats lie. Crime, homeless, economic outlook, sky high taxes, and crazy radical woke Dems running the city of Oakland, California. Let this be a wake-up call for Las Vegas. We need to reverse our trends on homelessness and crime and elect the right person this year to be Mayor of Las Vegas. The people we elect matter.