State Budget
Blog
State Budget Week - Learn How the Newsom Education Budget Will Impact You
The Newsom Education Budget: No Bang for the Buck
In the 2019-20 budget–Newsom’s first enacted budget–California spent $103 billion in state, local, and federal funds for education, which translated to $17,423 per pupil. In the governor’s new proposed budget, total education spending comes in at a whopping $137 billion, which pencils out to $24,764 per pupil. All this added ...
Commentary
State Budget Week - Learn How the Newsom Public Safety Budget Will Impact You
The Newsom Public Safety Budget: Budgets are a Reflection of Values
Governor Gavin Newsom spoke recently at Cal State Stanislaus highlighting his workforce initiatives and used the opportunity to introduce his 2025-2026 budget… State budgets are exceptionally complex documents full of granular data but a birds-eye view of spending places our tax dollars in a number of buckets of broad spending ...
Blog
State Budget Week - Learn how the Newsom Budget Will Impact California's Tax Burden
The Newsom Budget on Taxes: Yes, Governor, California Is a High Tax State
California imposes the highest top marginal state income tax rate and one of the highest state and local sales tax rates in the country. It is simply illogical to claim that a state with the highest income tax rate and a very high state and local sales tax rates is ...
Blog
State Budget Week - Learn how the Newsom Transportation Budget Furthers the "Train to Nowhere"
The Newsom Transportation Budget: Newsom Continues to Embrace Costly, Unrealistic State Bullet Train
Progress. The California high-speed rail project has made progress. If progress can be defined as finally laying the first track for a bullet train that is at least a couple of decades behind schedule. Hard to put any faith, though, in the promises and bragging when the HSR is running ...
California
The PRI All Stars Respond to Gov. Newsom’s 2025-26 State Budget
This week, we present an in-depth look at Gov. Newsom’s 2025-25 state budget plan. PRI scholars Wayne Winegarden, Lance Izumi, Steve Smith, and Kerry Jackson join Ro and Tim to explore the budget’s impact on taxes and the economy, education, crime, and transportation. They also explore how the Southern California ...
Blog
What can Californians expect from state lawmakers in 2025?
Here are 5 things to watch for as the Legislature Reconvenes
The Trump effect Fresh off a decisive re-election victory, President-elect Donald Trump is dominating U.S. politics. Surprisingly, he is also dominating California politics despite the fact that he is broadly unpopular in the state – though much less so than his first term as evidenced by his gaining nearly 5 ...
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 ...
California
Steven Greenhut – End of Session 2024 Wrap-Up
Free Cities Center director and longtime Sacramento journalist Steven Greenhut joins us for a review of the just-completed 2024 legislative session. We break down the year’s hottest legislative debates, including retail theft, the state budget, insurance reform, tech policy, and more. We also discuss Gov. Newsom’s dwindling influence over lawmakers ...
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
The Prop 47 Budgetary Shell Game – Who you Gonna Believe? Them, or your Lying Eyes?
In 2014, Californians voted overwhelmingly to pass Proposition 47, known by its supporters title the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” Prop 47’s advocates made a strong case, promising that both crime and incarceration rates would decline. At the same time, supporters argued that “massive” savings from ending the practice of ...
State Budget Week - Learn How the Newsom Education Budget Will Impact You
The Newsom Education Budget: No Bang for the Buck
In the 2019-20 budget–Newsom’s first enacted budget–California spent $103 billion in state, local, and federal funds for education, which translated to $17,423 per pupil. In the governor’s new proposed budget, total education spending comes in at a whopping $137 billion, which pencils out to $24,764 per pupil. All this added ...
State Budget Week - Learn How the Newsom Public Safety Budget Will Impact You
The Newsom Public Safety Budget: Budgets are a Reflection of Values
Governor Gavin Newsom spoke recently at Cal State Stanislaus highlighting his workforce initiatives and used the opportunity to introduce his 2025-2026 budget… State budgets are exceptionally complex documents full of granular data but a birds-eye view of spending places our tax dollars in a number of buckets of broad spending ...
State Budget Week - Learn how the Newsom Budget Will Impact California's Tax Burden
The Newsom Budget on Taxes: Yes, Governor, California Is a High Tax State
California imposes the highest top marginal state income tax rate and one of the highest state and local sales tax rates in the country. It is simply illogical to claim that a state with the highest income tax rate and a very high state and local sales tax rates is ...
State Budget Week - Learn how the Newsom Transportation Budget Furthers the "Train to Nowhere"
The Newsom Transportation Budget: Newsom Continues to Embrace Costly, Unrealistic State Bullet Train
Progress. The California high-speed rail project has made progress. If progress can be defined as finally laying the first track for a bullet train that is at least a couple of decades behind schedule. Hard to put any faith, though, in the promises and bragging when the HSR is running ...
The PRI All Stars Respond to Gov. Newsom’s 2025-26 State Budget
This week, we present an in-depth look at Gov. Newsom’s 2025-25 state budget plan. PRI scholars Wayne Winegarden, Lance Izumi, Steve Smith, and Kerry Jackson join Ro and Tim to explore the budget’s impact on taxes and the economy, education, crime, and transportation. They also explore how the Southern California ...
What can Californians expect from state lawmakers in 2025?
Here are 5 things to watch for as the Legislature Reconvenes
The Trump effect Fresh off a decisive re-election victory, President-elect Donald Trump is dominating U.S. politics. Surprisingly, he is also dominating California politics despite the fact that he is broadly unpopular in the state – though much less so than his first term as evidenced by his gaining nearly 5 ...
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 ...
Steven Greenhut – End of Session 2024 Wrap-Up
Free Cities Center director and longtime Sacramento journalist Steven Greenhut joins us for a review of the just-completed 2024 legislative session. We break down the year’s hottest legislative debates, including retail theft, the state budget, insurance reform, tech policy, and more. We also discuss Gov. Newsom’s dwindling influence over lawmakers ...
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 ...
The Prop 47 Budgetary Shell Game – Who you Gonna Believe? Them, or your Lying Eyes?
In 2014, Californians voted overwhelmingly to pass Proposition 47, known by its supporters title the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” Prop 47’s advocates made a strong case, promising that both crime and incarceration rates would decline. At the same time, supporters argued that “massive” savings from ending the practice of ...
