Apr 29, 2026 · 1h 8m · allin
CA Governor Candidate Steve Hilton on Why California is Destroying Itself & How a Republican Can Win
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of the All-In Podcast, California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton joins hosts Jason Calacanis and Chamath Palihapitiya to discuss his political background, economic plan, and platform for reforming California. Hilton outlines proposals to eliminate state income tax for middle-class earners, audit government waste via CalDOGE, reform housing and energy regulations, restore public safety, and build a winning political coalition for 2026.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. The hosts hold 20.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 4.2 Guest disagreement 1.4 The hosts pushing back 2.7
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 42:04 Steve Rejects Crude Quality Premise
Steve directly refutes Jason's assertion that California crude oil is too dirty or depleted, arguing that state regulatory permit denials by CalGEM are the real bottleneck.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 20:20 Jason Probes Legislative FeasibilityJason confronts Steve with the political reality of dealing with a Democratic supermajority legislature, questioning how his ambitious budget and tax cuts could ever pass.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 43:58 Steve Corrects Air Quality AssumptionSteve corrects the host's assumption that EV credits improved California air quality, explaining that EV penetration is under 5% and engine technology drove smog reductions.
The host holds their own ▶ 32:32 Hosts Benchmark CA Fees vs TexasJason demonstrates sharp expertise by citing specific housing data, comparing California's $30,000 per-door impact fee and low housing production against Texas's $1,000 fee and triple per-capita construction.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Hilton's Background and Immigrant Journey | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Chamath and Jason introduce Steve and invite him to share his personal immigrant story and political roots. The interaction is warm and welcoming, with zero host pushback or guest combativeness. | |
| Proposed Income Tax Reforms and Spending Cuts | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Jason and Chamath unpack Steve's tax policy, testing the math on exempting income under $100k and applying a 7.5% flat tax above it. Steve explains county-level low income definitions, while Chamath synthesizes the fiscal mechanics. | |
| CalDOGE and Auditing California Government Waste | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | Steve introduces CalDOGE audit findings, citing specific instances of state spending misallocation such as $928M of a $1B climate fund going to non-profit activism. The hosts ask clarifying questions about budget percentages without challenging his findings. | |
| Legislative Realities and Business Exodus | 6 | 3 | 2 | 6 | Jason pushes back strongly on the legislative feasibility of Steve's agenda, pointing out the Democratic supermajority and Schwarzenegger's past struggles. Steve maintains his stance, citing Katie Porter adopting his tax proposal as evidence of potential consensus. | |
| Housing Crisis and Regulatory Overhaul | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 | Jason demonstrates strong domain knowledge by comparing California's $30,000 per-door impact fees and housing production against Texas. Steve details how CEQA, union project labor agreements, and climate regulations drive up construction costs. | |
| Energy Policy, Regulation, and High Gas Prices | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | Jason argues that California crude oil is spent/dirtier and that EV mandates improved air quality. Steve directly corrects him, pointing out CalGEM permit denials, CARB's offshore carbon accounting trick, and noting EV adoption is under 5%. | |
| Education System Failure and Reform Proposals | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Chamath inquires about restoring educational standards and merit-based tracking. Steve educates the hosts on Mississippi's dramatic reading improvements using phonics and third-grade retention rules at one-third of California's per-pupil cost. | |
| Crime, Enforcement, and Prison Capacity | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Jason provides precise data showing California's prison population dropped from 165,000 to 93,000 following state prison closures. Steve explains how state transfers overcrowded county jails and advocates stopping prison closures. | |
| Addressing Homelessness through Encampment Sweeps and Treatment | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | Steve outlines his three-part homelessness response following the Grants Pass Supreme Court ruling. He details regulatory obstacles like Medicaid's 16-bed IMD rule that hinder mental health facility construction while the hosts listen agreeably. |
Statements from this episode (30)
Hilton compares current California conditions to 1970s United Kingdom
“There are so many things I see in California today that are exactly like the UK in the seventies. You've got the massive dominance of the unions in policymaking. You've got a slurotic economy. You've got massively high taxation.”
Steve Hilton states he renounced his United Kingdom citizenship
“I actually renounced my UK citizenship.”
Hilton: California has the highest unemployment and poverty rates in the US
“We're the state with the highest unemployment rate in the country and the highest poverty rate in the country tied with Louisiana.”
Hilton: California has top gas prices, housing costs, and second-highest electric bills
“We have the highest gas prices in the country, as you know, the highest electric bills everywhere except for Hawaii housing costs the highest in the country”
Hilton: Chief Executive magazine ranked California last in business climate for 10 years
“Chief executive magazine ranks us and has done for the last 10 years or so the 50th out of 50 for business climate.”
Hilton: California state budget has nearly doubled over the past decade
“If you look at the budget of the state of California, it's nearly doubled In the last 10 years.”
Hilton: CA solar fund gave $928M to non-profits, only $72M to solar
“Of that one billion total in 10 years, the actual amount spent on the purported benefit here Solar panel installation was seventy two million. Nine hundred and twenty eight million actually went to non-profits doing all, all the usual Democrat associated bulls…”
Hilton: California wastes $80B annually, 20% of state budget
“Well, our number over the last five years total, our estimate was four hundred and twenty-five billion. So averaged over the years, it's about eighty billion a year. So that's, so it's around, you know, 20% or so.”
Hilton: Katie Porter publicly adopted his plan for zero tax under $100K
“One of my Democrat opponents in the governor's race, Katie Porter. Actually, you know, we were doing a debate the other week in Fresno, and she just said, we're talking about affordability or whatever it was, and she said, well, I'm, I've decided I'm stealing …”
Hilton: California's proposed billionaire tax would destroy Silicon Valley's tech ecosystem
“If the billionaire tax proposal goes through, I mean, that absolutely puts You know, I think that's just a complete disaster for the tech ecosystem and what we've built in Silicon Valley over the years and all the job creation and wealth creation that comes wi…”
Hilton: Building housing in California costs 2-3x more than neighboring states
“The same exact floor plan, house, apartment building, industrial building, whatever it is, costs two or three times more to build. In other, in, in California than in neighboring states.”
Hilton: 70% of CEQA lawsuits are used to block housing
“70% of CEQA lawsuits are used to block housing.”
Hilton: Labor unions file most CEQA lawsuits blocking housing
“Most of those lawsuits are filed by unions.”
Hilton: Gavin Newsom's top campaign donors are unions and trial lawyers
“Gavin Newsom's political donations over the 16 years he's been running statewide, just as a proxy for Democrat politicians, by category. The number one category, government unions. Number two, trial lawyers. Number three, non-government unions.”
Calacanis: California still has the worst air quality in the US
“California still has the worst air quality in the country, largely because of the addiction to cars and traffic.”
Hilton: Iraq is California's top provider of imported oil
“Our number one provider is Iraq right now. That's the number one source of oil.”
Hilton: California oil refineries dropped from about 40 to seven
“We had a really strong energy industry and infrastructure in California where we produced most of the oil and gas that we use, and we had refineries, about 40 of them around the state, mostly in the Bay Area, down in LA, that refined and turned it into product…”
Hilton: CARB only counts imported oil emissions within 12 miles offshore
“CARB, the California Air Resources Board, which is obsessed with having all other businesses account for their carbon emissions right down the supply chain. Miraculously, the carbon emissions for the oil imports are only counted from when they're 12 miles off …”
Hilton: EV penetration in California is only about 4% to 5%
“If you look at EVs, I mean, EV penetration, even with all the subsidies and so on, it's incredibly low in California. So you can't point, it's about four or five percent, something like that.”
Hilton: California spends $27K per student while most fail basic standards
“We spend nearly the most of any state per student right now in this year. It's about 27,000, just, it's more than, just over 27,000 per student per year. In California, if you take the average out of the money, and we get some of the worst results in the count…”
Hilton: Mississippi beats CA school results at one-third per-student spend
“A lot of attention now on Mississippi, rightly so, because for one third of their spend per student than California, their results are spectacularly better.”
Hilton: Phonics is barely used in California public schools
“Which is, there's a technique called phonics. It's a way to teach kids to read, and it's totally clearly established as the most effective. It's barely used in California schools at all. It's like in a very small proportion of schools, of public schools.”
Hilton proposes assigning grades to every California school and teacher
“And that's one of the proposals I've got in my campaign, which is a grade for every school and a grade for every teacher. So we can reward the good ones and remove the bad ones.”
Calacanis: California violent crime rate is 30% above national average
“California, still 30% more violent Then the rest of the country.”
Hilton commits to reversing California's prison closure program if elected
“So a simple thing we can do that is completely within the governor's control is stop and reverse the prison closure program, which is what I've committed to doing.”
Calacanis: California state prison population fell from 165K to 93K
“California had 165,000 people in state prisons, now 93,000 people”
Hilton: Over 80% of unhoused Californians suffer from addiction or mental illness
“Over 80% of people who are homeless have drug or alcohol problems, addiction, or severe mental health problems.”
Hilton: Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation directing homelessness funding to sober shelters
“Last year, even the, going back to our point about the legislature, even the Democrat legislature passed a bill called the Sober Housing Act, which would have taken a certain proportion of homelessness spending and allocated it to a shelter where you had a req…”