State Capacity

BART can't find the invoice for a consultant report it commissioned to argue fare enforcement doesn't work — even as it pursues a new tax measure. Meanwhile, LA spent $20 million converting a functioning homeless shelter into 32 units that remain empty four years later, at $625,000 per unit. From SF's charter overhaul to nonprofit contracts built on undisclosed LLCs, California's governments are hemorrhaging public money through systems that seem engineered to avoid accountability.

State Capacity Budgets & Fiscal Policy

The $593 Billion Pension Scheme Crushing SFUSD

February 11, 2026 · 4 min read

Teachers and parents have a common enemy—and it isn't each other. It's a pension system running a 20-year scam.

Read more
State Capacity CA Ballot Measures

California Is Killing the Golden Goose

February 07, 2026 · 5 min read

The Robinhood CEO says he loves this state. That's why his warning should terrify Sacramento.

Read more
Federal Politicians State Capacity

Airbnb's Cofounder Is Redesigning America

February 06, 2026 · 3 min read

Joe Gebbia went from selling cereal to fund a startup to becoming the nation's first Chief Design Officer. Now he's fixing government.

Read more
State Politicians State Capacity

The $921M Special Interest Machine That Controls California

February 06, 2026 · 5 min read

Public sector unions collect nearly $1 billion a year to control Sacramento. Normal citizens? A trickle against a torrent.

Read more
Homelessness & Drug Crisis State Politicians

Matt Mahan's Radical Idea: Stop the Fraud First

February 04, 2026 · 4 min read

$30 billion stolen in unemployment fraud alone. California's gubernatorial candidate says fix it before raising taxes.

Read more
State Capacity Techno-Optimism

We Used to Build Things. What Happened?

February 04, 2026 · 8 min read

From the Panama Canal to parklet regulations—why it’s time for Americans to reclaim technology, growth, and the abundance that once defined it.

Read more
Merit & Excellence State Capacity

Stanford's Fake Disability Crisis Is America's Future

February 03, 2026 · 4 min read

When 38% of students at America's most elite university claim disability status, the system isn't broken—it's working exactly as designed.

Read more
Homelessness & Drug Crisis State Politicians

California Doesn't Need Ideas. It Needs Matt Mahan.

February 03, 2026 · 3 min read

San Jose's mayor has cut homelessness 25% while Sacramento lets good policies die in bureaucracy. He's running for governor.

Read more