California nearly tripled per-capita spending to $12,940 while running four straight deficits. NYC's $127 billion budget rivals Greece's GDP but delivers worse outcomes than Houston. LA blew $20 million converting a working homeless shelter into 32 empty units. The pattern across every blue city: budgets balloon, no one tracks results, and politicians raid reserves rather than cut waste.
Read Top Post →LA shut down a working homeless shelter in 2022 to convert it into permanent housing. Four years and $20 million later, all 32 units sit empty. The former Ramada Inn was already housing people when the city bought it for $10.2M. PATH took nearly two years just to get permits. Meanwhile, San Jose’s modular approach houses people for $18K per bed. The cost isn’t an outlier — $625K per unit is normal in California.
Mar 26, 2026 · 6 min
Even $8.6 billion in unexpected revenue couldn’t close the $18 billion deficit. Propositions 98 and 2 automatically absorb nearly all revenue gains, meaning California’s spending problem is baked into its constitution. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev — who says he loves the state and isn’t leaving — warned Sacramento is squeezing the golden goose until something breaks.
Feb 07, 2026 · 5 min
California’s per-capita spending jumped from $4,350 to $12,940 in 20 years — a 197% increase — while population grew just 11%. The state is running its fourth consecutive deficit, this time an $18 billion hole, and Governor Newsom’s response was $600 million in new spending. The LAO warned California’s reliance on capital gains tax makes the next downturn catastrophic.
Jan 12, 2026 · 2 min
