In case you thought you dreamt it, yes the State of California has now simply stopped accepting unemployment claims.

At 8:52 PM Saturday night, Gov. Newsom’s EDD “strike team” finally struck. Its overdue report comes to the shocking conclusion that the agency needs a complete overhaul.

The numbers defy belief: 1.5 million unresolved claims and a backlog that *increases* by 10,000 each week.

Gov. Newsom has presided over this train wreck for six months. Now he’s stopping any new claims for two weeks even as he continues to force so many Californians out of work. The EDD Director just said she “couldn’t be more thrilled.”

Meanwhile, the Legislature is enjoying a four-month recess – ignoring my proposal to get back to work, fix the EDD, and provide real oversight of the Governor.

The EDD’s colossal failures are not just a matter of incompetence. The Governor and Director malevolently refused my March request to stop harassing small businesses with audits during the shutdown.

This debacle has exposed our state’s massive bureaucracy as archaic, rigid, and in the thrall of special interests. We need a whole new paradigm where government is modern, performance-based, and at the service of Californians.

Every day brings fresh evidence that a statewide campaign based on integrity and good government could fundamentally realign California politics.

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