Celebrity Life Opinion
Last week, we reported that Bill Engvall recently announced that he will be leaving his successful standup comedy career behind to become a Christian minister. Now, he’s become the latest in a long line of celebrities to flee the liberal-run state of California, saying that he’s doing so partly because of the “insane” taxes there.
Engvall Flees California Over ‘Insane’ Taxes
“We were in California for 30 years and we had a good time. We had a great time,” Engvall, 66, explained to Fox News. “I always said, if you can’t find something to do in California, you’re not looking.”
Despite enjoying California in the past, Engvall had some good reasons for wanting to leave the state, so he and his wife Gail picked up and moved to Utah.
“I had accomplished everything I wanted to do in the business. And then also economically, I mean, the taxes were just becoming insane,” Engvall stated. “And so it was a combination of a lot of things. But I don’t hate California.”
“You know, there was nothing in California that we ever went, ‘Oh my God, we’ve got to get out of here.’… I still have a fondness for California,” he continued. “And like I said, if work comes, it’s probably gonna come out of LA… I still go back and do TV shows, you know, talk shows and stuff like that.”
Engvall has no regrets about moving to Utah, as he’s enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle there that gives him an opportunity to do things like fish, hike and ski.
“I felt more at home, if that makes sense,” he said of being in Utah. “I mean, I’m from Texas and I love Texas, but I don’t know that I could move back there… It’s got its pluses and minuses, just like every state does.”
“But I never saw Utah on our radar at all, you know,” he concluded. “But again, it was my probably narrow-mindedness, of judging what it was like. And then I got to realize, ‘Oh, it’s nothing like what I thought.’”
Engvall is currently promoting his final standup comedy special “Here’s Your Sign, It’s Finally Time – My Last Show,” which is set to premiere next month. Check out a trailer for that special in the video below.
Related: Bill Engvall, Comedian Turned Minister, Reveals What’s Wrong With Cancel Culture
Other Celebrities Flee California
Engvall has become the latest in a long line of celebrities to join the mass exodus from the liberal-run state of California. Others who have also fled California include the conservative stars Dean Cain of “Superman” fame and the “Happy Days” actor Scott Baio, who have moved to Nevada and Florida respectively.
Cain, 57, told Fox News last month that he thought he’d “never” leave California, but the Democrats running the state left him no choice with their outlandish policies.
“Governments can ruin an area. And that’s what’s going on in California,” he explained. “What is happening under [Democratic California Gov.] Gavin Newsom and the Democratic leadership in the House, in Congress — people I did not vote for.”
“People did in California vote for it. I didn’t,” he added. “But it’s the most ridiculous large government, incredible taxation, horrible regulations for business. Very anti-business. The personal income tax is 13 — the highest levels — 13, 13.2, whatever it happens to be. You’re getting hit with the highest gas tax in the nation. Sales tax, food tax, energy tax, natural gas tax. It’s as though they’re trying to tax people out of there.”
Full Story: ‘Superman’ Dean Cain Demolishes California’s ‘Terrible’ Liberal Policies – ‘Land Of Ridiculousness’
Baio’s Reasoning For Leaving California
Baio, who is best known for playing Cha Chi on the sitcom “Happy Days,” left California because of the spike in crime and homelessness that has overtaken the state.
“I see people… When I drive with my kid, I gotta turn her head away. She’s 14 years old. I see people defecating on the sidewalk,” Baio, 63, lamented during a call with the Clay & Buck show. “You see people in parks shooting up. There’s people passed out everywhere. I mean it. It’s not the isolated. It’s all over the place. And I’m about ready to get out of the state. So, you know, just so you guys know, that it’s no joke out here.”
“I think, probably since Governor Newsom, it’s really gotten bad, and maybe a little before that. So, maybe four or five years ago,” he continued. “It’s just… It’s out of control, guys. Listen, I’ve been here for 45, almost 50 years. I’ve seen this place go from an absolute paradise into a cesspool…”
In the end, it’s easy to see why Engvall, Cain, Baio, and countless others are fleeing California in droves in search for a better life elsewhere. If the liberals running California want to put a stop to this mass exodus, they might want to rethink some of their ridiculous policies.
But we won’t be holding our breath for that to happen.
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