From crime to cost of living, education to energy policy, the golden state of California is becoming unlivable for middle-class residents. As a result, people are fleeing the state at alarming rates.

“We didn’t have this 10 years ago. We didn’t have the theft. We didn’t have the homelessness. We didn’t have all these problems,” says Siyamak Khorrami, host of The Epoch Times’ “California Insider” program and the creator of our new documentary, “Leaving California: The Untold Story.”

In the documentary, Khorrami interviews business owners who have shut down or are on the verge of closing because of theft, taxes, and bureaucratic regulations that are making it increasingly difficult to turn a profit.

“Why is the cost so much higher in California? One of the factors is all the taxes on energy. Gasoline in California costs 40 percent more than the national average and utilities cost more than double the national average,” says Khorrami. “We’re regulating energy and gas and utilities and all of that because we want to go green. But these laws that get passed are at the expense of the average Californian. The average Californian has to pay for this.”

Khorrami says that state leaders and legislators are largely disconnected from the people and mainstream media is not holding the government accountable, or even reporting regularly on these issues.

“Pay attention to California and watch this movie because these policies are coming to your state,” says Khorrami.