In just a few years, California went from a $100 billion budget surplus to a $30 billion structural deficit. How does the world’s fourth-largest economy wipe out that much cash so quickly? In this mini-episode State of Gold takes a hard look at CA’s out of control "spending spree" as well as the rampant waste and fraud plaguing Sacramento.

Noted experts break down the "regressive" nature of California’s current path, where middle-class residents are squeezed by electricity and gas prices while state government spending doubles over the past decade. Wipeout reveals the "perverse financial incentives" that allow social problems to grow, and fail, despite record spending.

Chapters
00:00 – The $100 Billion Wipeout: From Surplus to Deficit
00:08 – The Real Math: 60% Revenue Growth vs. 72% Spending Growth
00:16 – Fraud Exported: $30 Billion Sent to Scammers
00:34 – The 2022 Surplus vs. Today’s Structural Deficit
00:52 – Boiling the Frog: Expanding Government Beyond Inflation
01:11 – Twice the Spending, Half the Quality: The 10-Year Decline
01:19 – Misaligned Priorities: School Renaming & Zoom Classrooms
01:31 – Education Failure: Bottom Quintile Results Despite Billions Spent
01:51 – Fraud Everywhere: From Special Districts to Wildfires
02:00 – The Audit Gap: Why Lawmakers Ignore Solutions
02:30 – Siphoning Funds: Interest Groups and Spending Decisions
02:47 – Breaking the Basics: Failing to Deliver on Record Budgets
02:58 – The Tax Loop: Solvency vs. Accountability
03:15 – Next Week: The Existential Threat of the Billionaire Tax

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