For Immediate Release: January 23, 2003

San Francisco, CA — With a current budget deficit more than the combined budgets of 26 states, it is essential that Californians have a clear view of what went wrong and how to get the state back on track. A new Pacific Research Institute (PRI) study titled California by the Numbers: Assessing the Governor’s 2003 State of the State Address and Budget, by Lawrence J. McQuillan, Andrew Gloger, and Derek Fears, provides the necessary facts and analysis.

“This report is an effort to hold California’s executive branch accountable for its claims and policy prescriptions. An objective way to do this is to compare California to the other states to see where we’ve made progress and where we need to redouble our efforts,” said Lawrence J. McQuillan, director of PRI’s Center for Entrepreneurship. California by the Numbers examines the governor’s positions in light of the state’s ranking in a variety of national indices.

“Governor Davis’s claims that California has made real progress in education and crime prevention are weak at best. His claim that California’s fiscal crisis is the result of national economic events is incorrect. And his prescription for tax increases to eliminate the deficit will actually destroy more jobs than he vows to create and prolong the slump by making California less competitive relative to other states,” said McQuillan.

It is evident that the quality of life in the Golden State is declining, with most education, crime, health, and business indicators at shockingly low levels.

“The evidence is overwhelming: California is falling behind the other states. To catch up, lawmakers must lower taxes, scrap burdensome regulations, and allow greater consumer choice. Only pro-growth policies will create an entrepreneurial climate yielding new businesses and jobs and a growing tax base sufficient to pay for essential government services without deficits,” he said.

An important first step would be to pass a state constitutional amendment limiting tax and spending growth.

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About PRI
For more than two decades, the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI) has championed individual liberty through free markets. PRI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the principles of limited government, individual freedom, and personal responsibility.