State Budget
California
Newsom’s wrongheaded special session is a misuse of gubernatorial power
Gov. Newsom’s call on December 2 for a mere $25 million fund for the Department of Justice and other agencies to prepare for potential litigation against the Trump administration underscores that the special session is for show, not substance. In any event, there was no need to call a special ...
California
Learn more about how expensive and complications reparations would be
Three Questions That Probably Doom California’s Reparations Push
As California seriously debates the logic of paying reparations to black Americans, it is important to review the implausibility of a reparations plan. Although I would likely accept payment should money ever actually be offered (ungallant to refuse, really), reparations are a notably bad idea. As I noted in a ...
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 ...
Blog
Read the latest on California's homeless crisis
Newsom’s Veto a Strange Way to Show Support for “Transparency and Accountability”
Assembly Bill 2570, by Asm. Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, would have required state officials to prepare an annual audit evaluating the effectiveness of the state’s primary homeless grant program – the Homeless, Housing, Assistance and Prevention program. The bill would require the audit to be included in an annual report department ...
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
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 ...
Newsom’s wrongheaded special session is a misuse of gubernatorial power
Gov. Newsom’s call on December 2 for a mere $25 million fund for the Department of Justice and other agencies to prepare for potential litigation against the Trump administration underscores that the special session is for show, not substance. In any event, there was no need to call a special ...
Learn more about how expensive and complications reparations would be
Three Questions That Probably Doom California’s Reparations Push
As California seriously debates the logic of paying reparations to black Americans, it is important to review the implausibility of a reparations plan. Although I would likely accept payment should money ever actually be offered (ungallant to refuse, really), reparations are a notably bad idea. As I noted in a ...
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 ...
Read the latest on California's homeless crisis
Newsom’s Veto a Strange Way to Show Support for “Transparency and Accountability”
Assembly Bill 2570, by Asm. Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, would have required state officials to prepare an annual audit evaluating the effectiveness of the state’s primary homeless grant program – the Homeless, Housing, Assistance and Prevention program. The bill would require the audit to be included in an annual report department ...
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 ...
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 ...
