State Budget

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State Budget Update: Scandal, Calls to Resist Cuts Mask State’s Growing Budget Shortfall

California’s budget problem is growing at an alarming rate. A new report recently released by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office forecasts, based on updated revenue projections that the stat will face “a large budget problem by about $7 billion” over what Gov. Newsom projects for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal ...
Blog

They’re Baaack! Sacramento Liberals Once Again Propose a ‘Wealth Tax’

Last week, San Jose Democratic Assemblymember Alex Lee once again proposed a “tax on extreme wealth in California.”  Under Assembly Bill 293, “extreme wealth” is defined as “households with net worths of more than $50 million.”  If enacted, a 1 percent tax would be applied to wealth over $50 million, ...
California

Shocking! Why California Policymakers Are So Often Caught by Surprise

California is always in the national news and too often for not-so-good reasons. A couple of recent events has left much of the rest of the country wondering how this ever-swaggering state is continually caught off guard. There’s really no mystery here. The answer is obvious. When it was announced ...
California

Cali’s Climate Change Budget Cuts Show Programs Are More About Politics Than Cutting Emissions

Sobered by the reality of a budget deficit, the governor has proposed cutting money for climate programs. It was surely a hard choice, but practical. Something has to go and there’s no better place to show spending discipline than by holding back funds dedicated to a political fantasy. After years ...
Blog

State Budget Update: Budget Deficit Could Be Far Worse Than Initially Thought

While noting that the Newsom plan does some good things like continuing to pay down debt and making modest budget cuts, PRI senior fellow in business and economics Dr. Wayne Winegarden wrote of the proposal in the Orange County Register that, “it avoids some of the tough budget choices these ...
California

On brink of recession, Newsom and lawmakers must budget cautiously

Gov. Newsom on Tuesday proposed a roughly $297 billion state budget plan for the 2023-24 fiscal year.  In contrast to last year’s nearly $100 billion surplus, the administration projects $29.5 billion in lower than estimated revenues and a $22.5 billion shortfall. The Newsom spending plan does some good things – including paying ...
Blog

State Budget Update: ‘Nothing to See Here’

Back in 2003, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf became a notorious figure in global media for his press statements at the start of the War in Iraq. Declaring that “Baghdad is safe” and “(American) infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds in the gates of Baghdad” as US tanks raced through the ...
Blog

State Budget Update: California Faces $25 Billion Budget Shortfall

When I last wrote about California’s state budget picture, Gov. Newsom was warning in his September veto messages about the state facing lower-than-expected tax revenues in the first months of the new fiscal year, and urging lawmakers to “remain discipline when it comes to spending.” With ongoing inflation and economic ...
Blog

State Budget Update: Newsom’s Vetoes Foreshadow Tough Budget Year Ahead

Gov. Newsom recently completed the bill signing period, issuing his final signatures and vetoes on the final measures from the 2022 legislative session that remained on his desk.   On the campaign trail in recent weeks, Newsom has been touting the California blue state agenda as the way forward for ...
Blog

Despite Sunday Late Night Tax Rebate Deal, Gas Tax Still Going Up

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature’s Democratic leaders announced Sunday that they had finally reached agreement on a tax rebate plan.  How to give Californians relief from high gas prices and rising inflation had been a key sticking point holding up the budget’s enactment. The unusual release of the plan ...
Blog

State Budget Update: Scandal, Calls to Resist Cuts Mask State’s Growing Budget Shortfall

California’s budget problem is growing at an alarming rate. A new report recently released by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office forecasts, based on updated revenue projections that the stat will face “a large budget problem by about $7 billion” over what Gov. Newsom projects for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal ...
Blog

They’re Baaack! Sacramento Liberals Once Again Propose a ‘Wealth Tax’

Last week, San Jose Democratic Assemblymember Alex Lee once again proposed a “tax on extreme wealth in California.”  Under Assembly Bill 293, “extreme wealth” is defined as “households with net worths of more than $50 million.”  If enacted, a 1 percent tax would be applied to wealth over $50 million, ...
California

Shocking! Why California Policymakers Are So Often Caught by Surprise

California is always in the national news and too often for not-so-good reasons. A couple of recent events has left much of the rest of the country wondering how this ever-swaggering state is continually caught off guard. There’s really no mystery here. The answer is obvious. When it was announced ...
California

Cali’s Climate Change Budget Cuts Show Programs Are More About Politics Than Cutting Emissions

Sobered by the reality of a budget deficit, the governor has proposed cutting money for climate programs. It was surely a hard choice, but practical. Something has to go and there’s no better place to show spending discipline than by holding back funds dedicated to a political fantasy. After years ...
Blog

State Budget Update: Budget Deficit Could Be Far Worse Than Initially Thought

While noting that the Newsom plan does some good things like continuing to pay down debt and making modest budget cuts, PRI senior fellow in business and economics Dr. Wayne Winegarden wrote of the proposal in the Orange County Register that, “it avoids some of the tough budget choices these ...
California

On brink of recession, Newsom and lawmakers must budget cautiously

Gov. Newsom on Tuesday proposed a roughly $297 billion state budget plan for the 2023-24 fiscal year.  In contrast to last year’s nearly $100 billion surplus, the administration projects $29.5 billion in lower than estimated revenues and a $22.5 billion shortfall. The Newsom spending plan does some good things – including paying ...
Blog

State Budget Update: ‘Nothing to See Here’

Back in 2003, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf became a notorious figure in global media for his press statements at the start of the War in Iraq. Declaring that “Baghdad is safe” and “(American) infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds in the gates of Baghdad” as US tanks raced through the ...
Blog

State Budget Update: California Faces $25 Billion Budget Shortfall

When I last wrote about California’s state budget picture, Gov. Newsom was warning in his September veto messages about the state facing lower-than-expected tax revenues in the first months of the new fiscal year, and urging lawmakers to “remain discipline when it comes to spending.” With ongoing inflation and economic ...
Blog

State Budget Update: Newsom’s Vetoes Foreshadow Tough Budget Year Ahead

Gov. Newsom recently completed the bill signing period, issuing his final signatures and vetoes on the final measures from the 2022 legislative session that remained on his desk.   On the campaign trail in recent weeks, Newsom has been touting the California blue state agenda as the way forward for ...
Blog

Despite Sunday Late Night Tax Rebate Deal, Gas Tax Still Going Up

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature’s Democratic leaders announced Sunday that they had finally reached agreement on a tax rebate plan.  How to give Californians relief from high gas prices and rising inflation had been a key sticking point holding up the budget’s enactment. The unusual release of the plan ...
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