The Hedge — Brutal Honesty Over Hype Since 2008
The Pitch
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco: deregulation, cutting “excessive fraud,” and the argument that Democratic single-party rule caused the mess and he’s the non-Democrat who’ll clean it up.
What He Gets Right
California’s regulatory environment is genuinely hostile to housing construction and business formation. CEQA has been used to block solar farms, transit projects, and housing developments by parties that have nothing to do with environmental protection. The “excessive fraud” argument has legitimate foundation — California’s EDD paid out an estimated $20+ billion in fraudulent unemployment claims during COVID. Medi-Cal fraud is a documented, recurring problem.
What He Doesn’t Have
“Deregulate” is not a plan — it’s a direction. Which regulations? How? A governor’s executive authority to override CEQA is limited. Substantive reform requires legislative action, and California’s legislature is heavily Democratic. “Rein in excessive fraud” is a campaign line, not a budget — even recapturing every identified dollar wouldn’t dent the structural cost drivers of housing, energy, and water.
There’s also a significant credibility problem. Bianco is in a court battle over his office’s unprecedented seizure of 650,000 Riverside County ballots from last November’s statewide special election. Voters evaluating a law-and-order candidate have standing to ask whether he applies that same discipline to himself.
The Bottom Line
The cost of living is driven by structural supply constraints that don’t care which party is in Sacramento.
Rating: Correct diagnosis. No prescription.
— Timothy McCandless | The Hedge | timothymccandless.wordpress.com
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