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How Gavin Newsom Can Become President [1]

['Liberal Thinking', 'A Pagan In Arizona', 'Sabrina Haake', 'Kelli Anne Busey']

Date: 2026-07-05  

This week, astrotheologist posted an article about her credit card company deciding to charge interest on her purchases. Most companies charge interest on unpaid debt, not purchases, but according to this article, the company said:

…it was interest on purchases I made after the close of their last cycle, later giving it a name– “trailing interest”. I was now going to be charged interest from the moment I swiped the card from late June up until some unknown time in July.

New policy to collect interest on your credit cards.

I haven’t heard of trailing interest before. And I wouldn’t use a credit card that charged interest from the time of the purchase.

But what are the alternatives?

Then I remembered that states have a power that could come into play. This power would make the credit card companies much more reasonable in how they treated customers.

That power is the power of the bank.

And that led me to consider how Gov. Gavin Newsom might use this power to become President of the United States. He could do this by proposing that California set up a state bank. It is the sort of bold move that materially cuts the cost of living for citizens, and would make him (IMO) a front-runner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.

A state bank in California would be a powerful force to cut costs. For one thing, the bank could offer low-cost (or even no cost) bank accounts and other services to California residents. One of the barriers for the poor becoming non-poor is the cost of banking. And this often goes along with living on the streets. If you don’t have a street address, it becomes harder to get a bank account.

And without a bank account, it is harder to deposit checks for employment. That forces people to go to payday lenders, who take large percentages from their wages.

Just having a state bank would cut costs for poor people. And that additional money could go to small businesses for food, clothing, and other essentials.

But the big change would come from the state bank issuing debit and credit cards. The state could absorb most or all of the costs, allowing people to use those cards free. Plus, businesses would not have to pay transaction fees on purchases. This would give businesses in the state a significant boost.

As far as I know there is only one state bank, the Bank of North Dakota (BND) But that is a proof of concept. There is no legal impediment to California setting up a state bank.

But there’s a huge difference. North Dakota has a population around 800,000. California has a population pushing 40 million (~39.4 million).

A state bank in California, especially one that issued its own credit cards, would be a huge force in the banking industry. It would put enormous pressure on the credit card companies to be fair with consumers.

Here’s what would help. Newsom could simply send a bank proposal over to the state legislature. That alone would make the credit card companies reconsider their terms of service. And it would remind voters that Newsom is a force to be reckoned with.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/5/800065517/community/how-gavin-newsom-can-become-president/

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