Spending Watch
Blog
Spending Watch
California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending
California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending Wayne Winegarden August 2024 Including federal, state, and local funds, California’s per capita spending on income support programs is 81 percent higher than the average expenditures for all other states – per capita spending of $3,869 compared to $2,141. These expenditures include “cash ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Californians Have Little to Show for All That Government Spending
Californians Have Little to Show for All That Government Spending Wayne Winegarden July 2024 It should not shock anyone that the FY2024-25 budget was short on fiscal discipline and long on budget gimmicks and fund shifts. Now that this year’s budget process is coming to an end, it is ...
Blog
Spending Watch: More Debt Is More Taxes
As a recent Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll confirms, this approach is out of step with “most Californians (56%) [who] would prefer to pay lower taxes and have a state government that provides fewer services”. With respect to solving the current budget crisis, the poll found that “fewer ...
Blog
Spending Watch
May Revise Preview: Sacramento Should Learn Lessons from the 2009 Budget Crisis
May Revise Preview: Sacramento Should Learn Lessons Wayne Winegarden May 2024 Governor Newsom is finalizing the May Revision for his 2024-25 budget plan this week. As he does, the parallels between California’s 2009 budget crisis and today’s budget difficulties are too compelling to ignore. Sacramento policymakers should heed the ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Consumers, Not ‘Polluters’, Would Be Hard Hit by New Climate Tax Legislation
Consumers, Not ‘Polluters’, Would Be Hard Hit by New Climate Tax Legislation Wayne Winegarden May 2024 SB-1497, the Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act of 2024, purports to “require fossil fuel polluters to pay their fair share of the damage caused by the sale of their products…to relieve a ...
California
Wayne Winegarden on PRI’s New Spending Watch Project
This week, we’re pleased to a special presentation by PRI’s Dr. Wayne Winegarden on our new Spending Watch initiative, which calculates the impact of major state legislation on outmigration, unemployment, taxes, and the economy. In his presentation from PRI’s recent Sacrament policy conference, he discusses the first Spending Watch analysis ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Expanding Unemployment Insurance Benefits – All Pain for No Gain
Expanding Unemployment Insurance Benefits – All Pain for No Gain Wayne Winegarden April 2024 SB 1434 would dramatically expand unemployment insurance benefits to current eligible workers. If implemented, it would expand benefits by over 55 percent, raise the number of workers who qualify for maximum benefits, increase the benefits for ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Single Payer Will Worsen California’s Healthcare System and Reduce Economic Growth
Single Payer Will Worsen California’s Healthcare System and Reduce Economic Growth Wayne Winegarden March 2024 With the introduction of AB 2200, advocates are, once again, proposing that California adopt a single payer healthcare system. Ostensibly, their proposed CalCare system would streamline payments, lower per-capita spending, guarantee “quality health care and ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Too Much Government Spending and Volatile Tax Revenues Drive State’s Budget Problem
Too Much Government Spending and Volatile Tax Revenues Drive State’s Budget Problem Wayne Winegarden March 2024 This analysis is the first publication of Spending Watch, a new initiative from the Pacific Research Institute. Spending Watch is a resource that evaluates the revenue, spending, and economic impacts of major budget and ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Reparations: A Financially Unrealistic Proposal That Will Bankrupt California
Reparations: A Financially Unrealistic Proposal That Will Bankrupt California Wayne Winegarden February 2024 With the introduction of its first set of reparations bills, the California legislature is officially considering the recommendations of the California Reparations Report from the state Reparations Task Force.1 Given these introductions, it is imperative to understand ...
Spending Watch
California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending
California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending Wayne Winegarden August 2024 Including federal, state, and local funds, California’s per capita spending on income support programs is 81 percent higher than the average expenditures for all other states – per capita spending of $3,869 compared to $2,141. These expenditures include “cash ...
Spending Watch
Californians Have Little to Show for All That Government Spending
Californians Have Little to Show for All That Government Spending Wayne Winegarden July 2024 It should not shock anyone that the FY2024-25 budget was short on fiscal discipline and long on budget gimmicks and fund shifts. Now that this year’s budget process is coming to an end, it is ...
Spending Watch: More Debt Is More Taxes
As a recent Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll confirms, this approach is out of step with “most Californians (56%) [who] would prefer to pay lower taxes and have a state government that provides fewer services”. With respect to solving the current budget crisis, the poll found that “fewer ...
Spending Watch
May Revise Preview: Sacramento Should Learn Lessons from the 2009 Budget Crisis
May Revise Preview: Sacramento Should Learn Lessons Wayne Winegarden May 2024 Governor Newsom is finalizing the May Revision for his 2024-25 budget plan this week. As he does, the parallels between California’s 2009 budget crisis and today’s budget difficulties are too compelling to ignore. Sacramento policymakers should heed the ...
Spending Watch
Consumers, Not ‘Polluters’, Would Be Hard Hit by New Climate Tax Legislation
Consumers, Not ‘Polluters’, Would Be Hard Hit by New Climate Tax Legislation Wayne Winegarden May 2024 SB-1497, the Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act of 2024, purports to “require fossil fuel polluters to pay their fair share of the damage caused by the sale of their products…to relieve a ...
Wayne Winegarden on PRI’s New Spending Watch Project
This week, we’re pleased to a special presentation by PRI’s Dr. Wayne Winegarden on our new Spending Watch initiative, which calculates the impact of major state legislation on outmigration, unemployment, taxes, and the economy. In his presentation from PRI’s recent Sacrament policy conference, he discusses the first Spending Watch analysis ...
Spending Watch
Expanding Unemployment Insurance Benefits – All Pain for No Gain
Expanding Unemployment Insurance Benefits – All Pain for No Gain Wayne Winegarden April 2024 SB 1434 would dramatically expand unemployment insurance benefits to current eligible workers. If implemented, it would expand benefits by over 55 percent, raise the number of workers who qualify for maximum benefits, increase the benefits for ...
Spending Watch
Single Payer Will Worsen California’s Healthcare System and Reduce Economic Growth
Single Payer Will Worsen California’s Healthcare System and Reduce Economic Growth Wayne Winegarden March 2024 With the introduction of AB 2200, advocates are, once again, proposing that California adopt a single payer healthcare system. Ostensibly, their proposed CalCare system would streamline payments, lower per-capita spending, guarantee “quality health care and ...
Spending Watch
Too Much Government Spending and Volatile Tax Revenues Drive State’s Budget Problem
Too Much Government Spending and Volatile Tax Revenues Drive State’s Budget Problem Wayne Winegarden March 2024 This analysis is the first publication of Spending Watch, a new initiative from the Pacific Research Institute. Spending Watch is a resource that evaluates the revenue, spending, and economic impacts of major budget and ...
Spending Watch
Reparations: A Financially Unrealistic Proposal That Will Bankrupt California
Reparations: A Financially Unrealistic Proposal That Will Bankrupt California Wayne Winegarden February 2024 With the introduction of its first set of reparations bills, the California legislature is officially considering the recommendations of the California Reparations Report from the state Reparations Task Force.1 Given these introductions, it is imperative to understand ...
