Christopher F. Rufo  ⚔️

So here I sit, waiting to hear back from my clients, and wondering if I'm going to lose 30% of my income (or more) with the snap of California's fingers on January 1st.

I cannot begin to explain the stress this has put on me and my family. I know there are no guarantees in this business. I could lose clients to layoffs, or to a recession. But I never thought the government would just take work away from me arbitrarily.

Some of you may not sympathize with me, given that I’m a white male with a privileged upbringing. But yesterday, I met a lot of people who are going to hurt even worse from this.

What about the students who can’t break into the industry because they can’t freelance enough to build a portfolio? What about the woman I met with a chronic illness, for whom a full time job is unfeasible, but who has built herself a good freelancing career that's shrinking?

Last night, I completely broke down over this. I've never felt so powerless in my own ability to provide for my family. Not even when I've been laid off.

There is no reason for this to be happening, yet politicians are taking away my livelihood because they wouldn't listen to the very people they claim they want to help.

So @LorenaSGonzalez, @GavinNewsom, and everyone else...please fix this. If this goes south enough, and my clients react as strongly as Vox did, I could be forced to leave California, as I know some already are.

Listen to your constituents. You are hurting, not helping. And you need to #FixAB5 NOW.