Why California Is Synonymous With Government Inefficiency

Author

Bubba
02 Dec

California’s homeless sheltering initiative shows why the Golden State is often the poster child for government inefficiency. (Hoover Institution)

A new Hoover Institution analysis: In March 2023 by Gov. Gavin Newsom to build 1,200 “tiny homes” to help tackle the state’s homelessness crisis.

  • None were ready by summer 2023 or 2024, and reports suggest none are currently occupied.

The cost: In San Jose, one of four cities chosen for the project, it will cost $30 million to add 144 beds.

  • After factoring in the land value, this works out to about $254,000 per bed, $338,000 per unit and a whopping $3,900 per square foot.

  • The median U.S. single-family home costs just $180 per sq. ft., while the median California single-family home costs $485 per sq. ft.

  • According to Hoover Institution senior fellow Lee Ohanian, had California officials simply purchased the tiny homes from Walmart, instead of using vendors, they would have spent roughly $16,000 per unit.

Related: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency recently shone a spotlight on California’s high speed rail project, which has been plagued by delays and ballooning costs.

There are more examples:

  • San Francisco spent years and budgeted $1.7 million for a 150-square-foot public bathroom project in Noe Valley, yet it just opened this year due to bureaucratic delays, excessive costs and permitting hurdles.

  • Orange County’s Streetcar project, originally expected to be completed by 2021 at a cost of $289 million, is now delayed until at least late 2025 with costs ballooning to $579 million, highlighting significant budget overruns and scheduling issues.

  • Los Angeles was widely mocked for spending $200,000 on "La Sombrita," a bus stop shade structure that provides minimal shade or light.

Bubba’s Two Cents

With blue cities shifting right in 2024 and reform movements like DOGE gaining momentum, public discontent with government waste and mismanagement may have reached critical mass. Is a long-overdue reckoning for government inefficiency on the horizon?