WEBVTT - We Need a Fiscal Watchdog!  Lanhee Chen Talks to Armstrong & Getty

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<v Speaker 1>The Armstrong and Jetty Show. I need to stop looking

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<v Speaker 1>at Twitter for the day. It has ruined my soul.

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<v Speaker 1>My soul has been ruined for the day, and on

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<v Speaker 1>a Friday, and this early in the day. That's a shame.

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<v Speaker 1>What are you gonna do? So much to talk about?

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<v Speaker 1>With lanh Chen David and Diane Stephy, fellow in American

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<v Speaker 1>Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution, the director of

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<v Speaker 1>Domestic Policy Studies at Stanford University, and a candidate for

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<v Speaker 1>the California State Controller's Office, recently endorsed by both the

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<v Speaker 1>Los Angeles Times as a Republican for the Love of

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<v Speaker 1>Heaven and the Orange County Register. It's Lon chan Lan,

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<v Speaker 1>he are you hey? Great to be with you, great

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<v Speaker 1>to have you so something we're discussing earlier in the show,

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<v Speaker 1>and I will take pains to keep this on an

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<v Speaker 1>academic level. You have a president who is not terribly

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<v Speaker 1>popular and really quite old and unlikely, extremely unlikely to

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<v Speaker 1>run for re election. In fact, I've predicted he wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>finish his term. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong. You

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<v Speaker 1>have an extremely unpopular vice president whose qualifications to lead

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<v Speaker 1>the nation are in doubt. To say the least. I

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<v Speaker 1>think we are a nation that is headed toward a

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<v Speaker 1>real crisis. Do you share that worry at all? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I have a particular concern around the economy now, and

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<v Speaker 1>I think as both of you know. You know, in

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<v Speaker 1>my my prior life, before running for this office, I

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<v Speaker 1>spent a lot of time thinking about economic policy and

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of time thinking about the course of our economy.

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<v Speaker 1>And we got used yesterday. You may have covered this

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<v Speaker 1>that the economy is actually shrinking, that that that the

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<v Speaker 1>size of our economy is decreasing. And you add that

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<v Speaker 1>to the inflationary pressure that a lot of families around

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<v Speaker 1>the country and particularly here in California field, and we

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<v Speaker 1>have some real severe economic challenges. And of course, what

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<v Speaker 1>if the President decide to go and do well. He

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<v Speaker 1>decided yesterday to talk about student loan forgiveness, and he's

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<v Speaker 1>really at this point now engaged in politics as opposed

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<v Speaker 1>to policy, because if he were really serious about dealing

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<v Speaker 1>with inflation, really serious about dealing with our economic condition,

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<v Speaker 1>he would not go out and propose, you know, hundreds

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<v Speaker 1>of billions, if not trillions in new spending, which is

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<v Speaker 1>part of the reason we're here. By the way, guys.

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<v Speaker 1>Part of the reason we have eight and a half

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<v Speaker 1>percent inflation, why gas and milk and everything else we

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<v Speaker 1>buy costs more, is because we have put trillions of

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<v Speaker 1>dollars of stimulus into this economy in the last year

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<v Speaker 1>and a half two years, and so it's just not

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<v Speaker 1>serious anymore. And that's the problem, is that the folks

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<v Speaker 1>in Washington, they don't seriously understand the challenges of the

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<v Speaker 1>economy is about to face. And so if it's not inflation,

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<v Speaker 1>it is going to be recession. And that's a horrible combination.

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<v Speaker 1>If anybody remember us back to the late nineteen seventies,

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<v Speaker 1>it is a horrible combination for our economy. Yeah, so

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<v Speaker 1>who's making these decisions? Speaking on Twitter? Has he been

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<v Speaker 1>being led by the Twitter left? Who cares about the

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<v Speaker 1>college because the average American thinks it's insane to bail

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<v Speaker 1>out the college student loan debt and at a time

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<v Speaker 1>when the economy is shrinking and inflations at record highs.

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<v Speaker 1>You're absolutely right, it's a what an insane policy decision? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>it is. You know. It is interesting because when Biden

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<v Speaker 1>campaigned for president, he campaigned as somebody who would bring

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<v Speaker 1>people together and try to find relatively central solutions, and

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<v Speaker 1>so far we have seen a lot of pretty far

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<v Speaker 1>left policies. I mean, this thing on student loan forgiveness

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<v Speaker 1>is the latest example of something that is embraced by

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<v Speaker 1>Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren but causes Kirsten Cinema and

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<v Speaker 1>Joe Mansion to cringe because it is not It is

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<v Speaker 1>an example of another set of policies that do not

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<v Speaker 1>speak to the economic challenges that American family these are

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<v Speaker 1>facing right now. The fundamental economic challenge that American family

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<v Speaker 1>space right now is they have a difficult time affording

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<v Speaker 1>the gas they need to put in their cars to

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<v Speaker 1>get to work. And and you're out here talking about

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<v Speaker 1>something which is, you know, I think frankly a a

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<v Speaker 1>political campaign issue. Joe Biden needs to figure out a

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<v Speaker 1>way to fire up the progressive left because that is

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<v Speaker 1>the only way he believed that he bailed himself out

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<v Speaker 1>of a very very poor midterm election cycle. So he's

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<v Speaker 1>trying to motivate the progressive left, and he does it

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<v Speaker 1>by proposing policies that I'm pretty sure seventy five percent

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<v Speaker 1>of people look at and they say, why are we

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<v Speaker 1>doing this? Why are we not figuring out a way

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<v Speaker 1>to get this economy on track instead. So this is

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<v Speaker 1>more a philosophical question than a policy question. But as

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<v Speaker 1>most political messages, especially these days, have to be extremely

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<v Speaker 1>simple and blunt to break through, are this is it

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<v Speaker 1>possible that voters are beginning to grasp the subtlety of

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<v Speaker 1>when the government acts as Santa clause, there are economic

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<v Speaker 1>effects that hurt you. Do you think people are connecting

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<v Speaker 1>those dots? You know? I don't know. I hope they are,

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<v Speaker 1>because I think it's fairly obvious why we've seen inflation

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<v Speaker 1>and prices explode so much over the last six months. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>And I think it's important for people who who believe

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<v Speaker 1>that to be the case, and I certainly do to

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<v Speaker 1>make that, to make that clear that the reason that

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<v Speaker 1>we have record inflation, the reason why families are having

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<v Speaker 1>a tougher and tougher time making making ends made. And

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<v Speaker 1>by the way, the housing market, which has undergone a

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<v Speaker 1>massive expansion over the last two years, is headed in

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<v Speaker 1>some places. I fear for a massive correction, uh, precisely

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<v Speaker 1>because of the economic conditions and the broader inflationary conditions

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<v Speaker 1>we face, and with interest rates rising, it's gonna get

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<v Speaker 1>harder and harder for people to afford houses. And also,

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<v Speaker 1>by the way, people who carried out loans UH that

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<v Speaker 1>have adjustable rates, they're going to get hit very, very

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<v Speaker 1>hard because of the rising just rate. So there's all

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of things happening in this economy that I think

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<v Speaker 1>is really kind of a toxic mix. And uh, and

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<v Speaker 1>folks just need to recognize that we didn't get here

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<v Speaker 1>by accident. Okay, it's not like, you know, Joe Biden

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<v Speaker 1>makes us sound like Vladimir Putin caused inflation, and that's like, listen, buddy,

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<v Speaker 1>I got used for you. You caused it, you and

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<v Speaker 1>people who decided that we were going to put it.

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<v Speaker 1>I said, trillions of dollars into this economy. You caused it.

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<v Speaker 1>So long you're the guy who's putting all those stickers

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<v Speaker 1>in the gas pumps, then you're the guy with the

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<v Speaker 1>Biden sticks. I did that next to the numbers on

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<v Speaker 1>the gas pumps. By the way, here's here's a simple idea.

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<v Speaker 1>Why don't we give people a very clear sense when

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<v Speaker 1>they sell up their gas take how much in those

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<v Speaker 1>uh gas fees per gallon are because of taxes? And

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<v Speaker 1>no kidding, no kidding, Why don't we just give people

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<v Speaker 1>a clear idea of that so they can get a

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<v Speaker 1>sense of how badly they're getting hosed every time they

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<v Speaker 1>put a gallon of gas into their cars. I'm against this.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm against this sort of thing as a libertarian, but

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<v Speaker 1>I would like it to happen like the same way

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<v Speaker 1>that they have calories next to the food now and

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<v Speaker 1>the menus and be awesome. On the phone, every gas

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<v Speaker 1>pump it told you how much of the price was taxes. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean and and and then it'd be great if

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<v Speaker 1>we could figure out where that money all actually went.

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<v Speaker 1>Because what we're told in California is it's going to

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<v Speaker 1>build better roads. I don't know about that. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know about that. I've driven around on these roads recently.

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<v Speaker 1>They're not so good. So you know, it's it's this

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<v Speaker 1>is the stuff that drives people nuts, though, is that fundamentally? Uh?

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<v Speaker 1>You have government making excuses, you have governments saying well,

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<v Speaker 1>we're doing all this stuff for you, and people turn

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<v Speaker 1>around and they say, no, actually, I think you'll make

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<v Speaker 1>it harder. And right now, in many cases, unfortunately for

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<v Speaker 1>too many families, Uh, things are not going well and

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<v Speaker 1>they're and they're not going well, because of bad decisions

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<v Speaker 1>by our policy name hey, speaking of bad decisions by policymakers.

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<v Speaker 1>We talked about this story earlier in the week, and

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<v Speaker 1>I understand you have some thoughts on it um. The

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<v Speaker 1>San Francisco Chronicle did a great job of looking into

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<v Speaker 1>the results of the hundreds of millions of dollars taxpayers

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<v Speaker 1>have spent to deal with the so called homeless problem,

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<v Speaker 1>and the results have been horrible. People dying of opioid deads,

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<v Speaker 1>people staying homeless, and increase in homelessness of fifty six

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<v Speaker 1>percent after spending all that money. How did how did

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<v Speaker 1>that report strike you in two minutes or less? If

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<v Speaker 1>you can pull it off, well, it reminds me of

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<v Speaker 1>what happens when you don't have effective oversight in in

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<v Speaker 1>in a city or in a state. And in California,

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<v Speaker 1>there is no problem where the lack of oversight has

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<v Speaker 1>has been a bigger cause of things getting worse than

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<v Speaker 1>our homelessness crisis in San Francisco. They spent a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of money in l A. We know they in one program,

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<v Speaker 1>they're spending eight hundred thousand dollars per unit of housing construction,

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<v Speaker 1>and the problems are getting worse in the state of California. Overall,

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<v Speaker 1>we've allocated twenty billion dollars for homelessness and over the

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<v Speaker 1>last three years, and every California and I speak to

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<v Speaker 1>and everything that I seek suggest the problem is getting worse.

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<v Speaker 1>So you tell me what what what's the problem here?

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<v Speaker 1>The problem them is there's nobody who's saying, hey, you

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<v Speaker 1>can't keep spending this money if it's not solving problems.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're gonna spend money, it better solve problems. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's you know, that's one of the reasons why I'm

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<v Speaker 1>running for for Controller in California because as Controller, my

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<v Speaker 1>job would be to provide accountability for every single dollar

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<v Speaker 1>this state spends. And I will tell you, in homelessness,

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<v Speaker 1>we are not solving the problem. We are spending an

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<v Speaker 1>awful lot of money, and we need to get back

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<v Speaker 1>into the problem solving business again. We are not only uh,

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<v Speaker 1>we are not only hurting people who are homeless by

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<v Speaker 1>not giving them the ability and helping them figure out

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<v Speaker 1>how to get down of that situation, but we're making

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<v Speaker 1>it worse. And people are literally dying in San Francisco.

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<v Speaker 1>They are living in rat feasts infested hotels because because

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<v Speaker 1>the City of San Francisco can't get it back together,

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<v Speaker 1>and because the mayor there doesn't want accountability, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>and and they have repeatedly refused to have an oversight commission.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'll tell you it's about time somebody was up

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<v Speaker 1>up there calling balls and stripes and saying, you guys,

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<v Speaker 1>can't keep doing this. You can't keep spending good money

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<v Speaker 1>and sending it after bad So that that I think

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<v Speaker 1>is really the fundamental route of the problem is we

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<v Speaker 1>don't have an independent fiscal watchdog. We have too many

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<v Speaker 1>lap dogs. And that is why, that is why Alan

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<v Speaker 1>he Chan is running for California State Controller. Lan he

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<v Speaker 1>always enlightening, Thanks so much for the time. Good to

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<v Speaker 1>talk to you, great to do with you, guys. And

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<v Speaker 1>of course, one of the most insidious parts of that

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<v Speaker 1>lack of an oversight or accountability or whatever is that

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<v Speaker 1>for ideological reasons, those on the left continue to ignore

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that we have an enormous drug crisis, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's at the heart of a lot of what's going

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<v Speaker 1>on with the so called homeless crisis. But just in general,

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<v Speaker 1>nobody ever looks at the results of government programs. He

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<v Speaker 1>just he's somebody proposes them, they passed. You spend a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of money and then no where ever checks to see,

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<v Speaker 1>hey did that work or not. You just keep doing

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<v Speaker 1>it right. You don't even like get as far as

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<v Speaker 1>getting a dishonest answer. Nobody even asks the question. You

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<v Speaker 1>miss an hour. Grab the podcast Armstrong and Getty on

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<v Speaker 1>demand and Getty