Staff Reports
Republican Study Committee members Representative Vince Fong and Representative James Gallagher went on the RSC’s Right to the Point podcast this week and made a clear, hard-nosed case: California’s problems are not accidents. They said the state’s “three W’s — waste, water, and wildfire” are the result of Democrat leadership in Sacramento, and that taxpayers across the country are paying the price.
The three W’s: waste, water, and wildfire
On the podcast the two lawmakers called out a string of policy failures. They pointed to pandemic-era unemployment overpayments, a massive state borrowing balance tied to unemployment insurance, the ever-growing high-speed rail budget, and what they call misplaced priorities that leave wildfire prevention and water storage underfunded. Their message was simple: Sacramento is spending on pet projects while basic public safety and farming needs go begging.
The numbers Republicans cited — and what the records show
Audits, estimates, and facts
Fong and Gallagher used big numbers to make their point. They cited estimates in the tens of billions for pandemic-era improper UI payments and said California carried a huge federal Title XII loan balance that raises employer payroll costs. Independent audits and state reports back part of that picture. The State Auditor flagged roughly $10.4 billion in payments EDD later labeled possibly fraudulent, while other oversight tallies and political estimates have pushed the total higher into the $30 billion range. California’s high-speed rail authority reports program expenditures of about $14.9 billion so far, and recent state budget language does guarantee steady annual allocations to the project. Those are not small figures — they are proof that big projects and big mistakes mean big bills for businesses and families.
What the GOP wants and what should happen next
Republicans on the podcast proposed a straightforward fix list: line-by-line budget reviews, tighter fraud controls at EDD, repayment plans for federal UI advances, and a reordering of spending so wildfire prevention and water storage come first. They also called for cutting red tape that raises costs for shipping and farming. Those are sensible ideas. If Sacramento will not prioritize them, then taxpayers should demand answers and elected officials should push hard for reforms that actually protect communities and jobs.
Governor Newsom and state lawmakers can shrug, spin, or point fingers. Or they can own the facts and fix what’s broken. Conservatives will keep sounding the alarm until California stops treating expensive slogans and pet projects as substitutes for basic good government. That is what accountability looks like — and it’s overdue.
