Every year around this time, my wife asks me what I want for Christmas. And every year since GFC launched in 2011, my response has been: “An uncaptured California Legislature and Governor.” I will be disappointed again this year. That’s because California’s state government remains captured by union, corporate, trial lawyer, NGO, and other special interests that claim the lion’s share of $500 billion of annual spending and most of the benefits from ~1000 bills enacted each year and inserted into 29 previously-captured legal codes.
It’s a perpetual, rigged cycle: Year in and year out, these middlemen recycle a fraction of their captured money into political contributions for the very lawmakers who then funnel them even more public funding and more crony laws. And it’s all perfectly legal — think of it as legal corruption. I have seen the effects of this capture firsthand, from retroactive pension increases and inflated salaries for political donors to phony budget concessions and more. I’d be interested to hear your examples of capture.
Meanwhile, the public sees little improvement in their daily lives. The middlemen then skillfully harness that public anger in favor of—you guessed it—even more spending. This is why taxes continue to rise even as essential services decline: almost all the benefit is diverted to those who have captured the system.
Still, we can never give up. This time, I have a bit more hope thanks to the emergence of a new PAC focused on the Legislature about which I’ll provide more information in the new year. In 2026, GFC will keep its usual eye on fiscal affairs, occasionally ask you to take action, expand our “Johnny Appleseed” program promoting other effective political organizations, and continue with interviews with candidates for governor and other statewide offices with the eventual goal of making recommendations. See you next year.
