State Budget
Blog
Is California leaving a large amount of tax revenue on the table?
Flavored Tobacco Prohibition Bans Tax Revenues Not Products
Examining state tax revenues and the volume of legal cigarette sales, it appears that the ban has caused cigarette use to decline. As Figure 1 illustrates, the decline in tax paid cigarette sales accelerated in 2023 following the implementation of the ban. Lost sales translate into lost tax revenues for ...
Blog
Read latest on state budget debate and climate funding
Would the Sky Fall if Newsom’s Environmental Budget Cuts Are Enacted? Reality Says No.
CalMatters reports that “an array of key climate programs – including efforts to combat rising seas and help low-income Californians buy electric cars – face significant cuts and delays as California seeks to close a $56 billion deficit over the next two fiscal years.” Newsom’s latest proposal is “a 17% ...
Blog
Read latest on state budget
The Legislature’s Budget Paints White Roses Red
Consequently, the details released thus far indicate that legislators’ plan for balancing the 2024-25 budget will work on paper only. In practice, budget holes will likely persist for the current fiscal year and taxpayers should expect the budget drama to continue long after the official budget is passed on June ...
Blog
A Foster Care Racket
“You will be glad my lord, that I possess such an unsentimental view when I am managing your investments” – Ralph Nickelby in Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens According to the California Children’s Law Center, in 2023 California housed and cared for as many as 60,000 children who, for a ...
California
Wayne Winegarden – Newsom’s May Revised Budget
California is in a deep budget deficit. In the May Revised budget, Gov. Newsom’s makes real cuts and suggests some efficiency improvements but are they enough? PRI senior fellow in business and economics Wayne Winegarden unpacks the governor’s plan. The proposal still relies on too many budget gimmicks and fund ...
California
Read about Gov. Newsom's "May Revise" budget proposal
May Revise sets up California for painful spending choices and tax increases
Giving credit where it is due, Gov. Newsom’s “May Revise” budget proposal recognizes the seriousness of the situation. He proposes real cuts, opposes tax increases, and suggests some efficiency improvements – which are all positive steps. Unfortunately, the proposal still relies on too many budget gimmicks and fund shifts. The Newsom plan also underestimates the severity of the current budget shortfall that must be addressed. Making matters worse, growing economic headwinds, including the tech industry laying off over 81,000 people and California’s subpar personal income growth, raises concerns that the ...
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
Should CA pay unemployment to striking workers?
Subsidizing Strikes Is The California Legislature’s Latest Anti-Growth Proposal
Worsens California’s Uncompetitive Business Environment UI benefits are not designed for workers who have voluntarily walked off the job – it is part of the social safety net system designed to help those workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. Expanding these benefits to workers who ...
Blog
Read latest on California's budget crisis
Governor Newsom’s Budget Crisis Is Déjà vu All Over Again
When we last updated you on efforts by Gov. Newsom and legislative Democrats to close the state’s $73 billion budget deficit, Senate Democrats had proposed a $17.1 billion plan to “shrink the shortfall” – of which, just 19.3 percent were actual cuts. Just before the Legislature’s summer recess on March ...
Blog
Learn about the Biden budget plan
President Biden’s Fiscal Illusions
The President imagines that the federal budget is driving toward a fiscal cliff because tax revenues are too low, and the rich are not paying their fair share. Such accusations may make good political talking points, but they are demonstrably false. Let’s start with his vacuous accusation of tax fairness. ...
Is California leaving a large amount of tax revenue on the table?
Flavored Tobacco Prohibition Bans Tax Revenues Not Products
Examining state tax revenues and the volume of legal cigarette sales, it appears that the ban has caused cigarette use to decline. As Figure 1 illustrates, the decline in tax paid cigarette sales accelerated in 2023 following the implementation of the ban. Lost sales translate into lost tax revenues for ...
Read latest on state budget debate and climate funding
Would the Sky Fall if Newsom’s Environmental Budget Cuts Are Enacted? Reality Says No.
CalMatters reports that “an array of key climate programs – including efforts to combat rising seas and help low-income Californians buy electric cars – face significant cuts and delays as California seeks to close a $56 billion deficit over the next two fiscal years.” Newsom’s latest proposal is “a 17% ...
Read latest on state budget
The Legislature’s Budget Paints White Roses Red
Consequently, the details released thus far indicate that legislators’ plan for balancing the 2024-25 budget will work on paper only. In practice, budget holes will likely persist for the current fiscal year and taxpayers should expect the budget drama to continue long after the official budget is passed on June ...
A Foster Care Racket
“You will be glad my lord, that I possess such an unsentimental view when I am managing your investments” – Ralph Nickelby in Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens According to the California Children’s Law Center, in 2023 California housed and cared for as many as 60,000 children who, for a ...
Wayne Winegarden – Newsom’s May Revised Budget
California is in a deep budget deficit. In the May Revised budget, Gov. Newsom’s makes real cuts and suggests some efficiency improvements but are they enough? PRI senior fellow in business and economics Wayne Winegarden unpacks the governor’s plan. The proposal still relies on too many budget gimmicks and fund ...
Read about Gov. Newsom's "May Revise" budget proposal
May Revise sets up California for painful spending choices and tax increases
Giving credit where it is due, Gov. Newsom’s “May Revise” budget proposal recognizes the seriousness of the situation. He proposes real cuts, opposes tax increases, and suggests some efficiency improvements – which are all positive steps. Unfortunately, the proposal still relies on too many budget gimmicks and fund shifts. The Newsom plan also underestimates the severity of the current budget shortfall that must be addressed. Making matters worse, growing economic headwinds, including the tech industry laying off over 81,000 people and California’s subpar personal income growth, raises concerns that the ...
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 ...
Should CA pay unemployment to striking workers?
Subsidizing Strikes Is The California Legislature’s Latest Anti-Growth Proposal
Worsens California’s Uncompetitive Business Environment UI benefits are not designed for workers who have voluntarily walked off the job – it is part of the social safety net system designed to help those workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. Expanding these benefits to workers who ...
Read latest on California's budget crisis
Governor Newsom’s Budget Crisis Is Déjà vu All Over Again
When we last updated you on efforts by Gov. Newsom and legislative Democrats to close the state’s $73 billion budget deficit, Senate Democrats had proposed a $17.1 billion plan to “shrink the shortfall” – of which, just 19.3 percent were actual cuts. Just before the Legislature’s summer recess on March ...
Learn about the Biden budget plan
President Biden’s Fiscal Illusions
The President imagines that the federal budget is driving toward a fiscal cliff because tax revenues are too low, and the rich are not paying their fair share. Such accusations may make good political talking points, but they are demonstrably false. Let’s start with his vacuous accusation of tax fairness. ...
