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By Jon Coupal
As it did with citizens throughout America, the pandemic caused massive disruption to the lives of virtually every Californian.
Tens of thousands lost their lives, many now have long-term health problems, and countless others lost their jobs or businesses. Moreover, the disastrous handling of the pandemic for school-aged children will likely leave a scar on an entire generation that may never heal.
More unique to California, however, is the extent of government waste associated with the pandemic. Outright fraud, mismanagement, opportunistic consultants, ineffective media campaigns, and simple incompetence put California way ahead of all other states in felony-level stupidity with the spending of taxpayer dollars.
Because this is a column, not a book, we can only review a few of the most egregious examples.
Of course, the big Kahuna is the jaw-dropping amount of fraud in the Employment Development Department (EDD). Originally thought to be “only” $11 billion in “improper” payments, we now know that the fraud exceeded $31 billion. To put that in perspective, that is 10% of the entire budget for the state of California. More insulting is where the money went. Transnational organized criminal groups from China and Africa have made off with billions of dollars, with who knows how much of it used for child trafficking, drugs, and terrorism.
To read the entire column, please click here.
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