The audit of homelessness spending in California is finally out, and the results are infuriating: "California spent $24 billion to tackle homelessness over the past five years but didn’t consistently track whether the huge outlay of public money actually improved the situation."
I first asked for the audit in 2020, but Newsom intervened to kill it. Now we know why he didn't want his spending examined. Last year, Assemblyman Josh Hoover got the audit approved, and the findings released today are even worse than I expected.
The audit found that the California Interagency Council on Homelessness "stopped tracking spending on programs and whether programs were working in 2021. It also failed to collect and evaluate outcome data for these programs." Even a Democrat State Senator decried the "lack of transparency at every level."
Meanwhile, homelessness has increased by 32 percent in California over the last five years. It has increased 67 percent in Sacramento. And half the nation's unsheltered homeless now live in our state.
In short: California is spending more and more on homelessness and the problem continues to get worse worse and worse. Far worse than anywhere else in America. It's yet another example of how our citizens sacrifice the most and get the least in return.
I found a guy who goes around the US asking 70 to 100-year-olds their:
• Biggest Regrets
• Biggest Lessons
• Advice to their younger self
Oddly enough, most of their answers are the same…
Here are my top 8: