In the sunny streets of Los Angeles, where palm trees sway and stars are made, one might think life is as glamorous as in the movies. But take a walk downtown and you’ll find a different story – a story that Governor Gavin Newsom would not want plastered all over Hollywood. Our bumbling political protagonist claims he’s batting a home run in reducing homelessness, yet the scenes on LA’s sidewalks tell a tale of bustling tent cities.

Governor Newsom recently boasted about a 5% drop in homelessness during his highly publicized state address. It’s almost as if he expects applause for proclaiming that his magic wand has made the tents vanish. Yet a casual morning stroll reveals more street-side housing than ever, stretching across both sides of downtown. California is now a real estate haven for those who don’t pay rent, and taxpaying business owners have front row seats.

Chatting with the brave folks at LAPD, they express their frustration with a twinkle of disbelief in their eyes. These officers are given orders to hand out flyers instead of helping people find real shelter. They are the reluctant messengers in a saga that doesn’t see progress but sees plenty of political theatrics. If homelessness is down, one has to wonder if Newsom means in power point presentations, not in practice.

Now, some may ask how this ironic theater is funded. A jaw-dropping $20 billion lavished on homelessness, which averages about $125,000 per homeless person. For context, that’s the cost of a cozy family home in middle America. Yet the Santa Monica sunshine hasn’t seen this budget eradicating tent cities or generating prosperity. In a state where concrete blossoms are wilting, it’s as though invisible strands of corruption and bureaucracy are holding things in place.

Of course, with such flamboyant funding misguidance, who would want to resolve the crisis quickly? When the problem becomes the goose that lays the golden egg, there’s little incentive to retire it. This lavish fund allocation emerges as the golden thread tying California’s leadership with ironic tragedy. And for that, the stage is set every day on the streets of LA where hollow promises and squandered wealth paint a picture quite different from Newsom’s official narrative.