Spending Watch
Blog
Spending Watch
SB 222 Will Weaken California’s Economy and Reduce State Revenues
SB 222 Will Weaken California’s Economy and Reduce State Revenues Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal March 2025 The destructiveness of the Eaton and Palisades fires were unprecedented. According to the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, the recent Los Angeles wildfires caused up to $164 billion in property and capital ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Backfilling Lost Federal Education Funding Will Cost California Dearly
Backfilling Lost Federal Education Funding Will Cost California Dearly Wayne Winegarden February 2025 The erratic actions of the Trump Administration are undoubtedly making it more difficult for states to budget for the upcoming 2026 fiscal year. The knee-jerk reaction from many California politicians is to call for more taxes on ...
Basic Income
Spending Watch
A More Effective Safety Net, Not A Basic Income, Will Help Lift People Out of Poverty
A More Effective Safety Net, Not A Basic Income, Will Help Lift People Out of Poverty Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal December 2024 2024 was a good year for proponents of a universal basic income (UBI). Following the 2019 experiment in Stockton, UBI pilot programs are underway across cities in ...
Blog
Spending Watch
While National Economic Performance Has Supported State Revenue Growth, Greater Spending Restraint Is Still Required
While National Economic Performance Has Supported State Revenue Growth, Greater Spending Restraint Is Still Required Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal November 2024 Three months into the 2024-25 fiscal year, state revenues are outperforming lowered expectations. Should these trends continue, the FY2025-26 budget process may avoid the crushing deficit problem that ...
Blog
Spending Watch
The Governor’s Special Session Will Worsen Gasoline Affordability
The Governor’s Special Session Will Worsen Gasoline Affordability Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson September 2024 The special session called by Governor Gavin Newsom is supposed to save Californians from price gasoline spikes. The governor wants to blame the price spikes on greedy corporations. His accusations are merely a diversion from ...
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 imperative ...
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 ...
Spending Watch
SB 222 Will Weaken California’s Economy and Reduce State Revenues
SB 222 Will Weaken California’s Economy and Reduce State Revenues Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal March 2025 The destructiveness of the Eaton and Palisades fires were unprecedented. According to the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, the recent Los Angeles wildfires caused up to $164 billion in property and capital ...
Spending Watch
Backfilling Lost Federal Education Funding Will Cost California Dearly
Backfilling Lost Federal Education Funding Will Cost California Dearly Wayne Winegarden February 2025 The erratic actions of the Trump Administration are undoubtedly making it more difficult for states to budget for the upcoming 2026 fiscal year. The knee-jerk reaction from many California politicians is to call for more taxes on ...
Spending Watch
A More Effective Safety Net, Not A Basic Income, Will Help Lift People Out of Poverty
A More Effective Safety Net, Not A Basic Income, Will Help Lift People Out of Poverty Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal December 2024 2024 was a good year for proponents of a universal basic income (UBI). Following the 2019 experiment in Stockton, UBI pilot programs are underway across cities in ...
Spending Watch
While National Economic Performance Has Supported State Revenue Growth, Greater Spending Restraint Is Still Required
While National Economic Performance Has Supported State Revenue Growth, Greater Spending Restraint Is Still Required Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal November 2024 Three months into the 2024-25 fiscal year, state revenues are outperforming lowered expectations. Should these trends continue, the FY2025-26 budget process may avoid the crushing deficit problem that ...
Spending Watch
The Governor’s Special Session Will Worsen Gasoline Affordability
The Governor’s Special Session Will Worsen Gasoline Affordability Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson September 2024 The special session called by Governor Gavin Newsom is supposed to save Californians from price gasoline spikes. The governor wants to blame the price spikes on greedy corporations. His accusations are merely a diversion from ...
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 imperative ...
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 ...
