State Budget

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Despite Newsom’s Claims, California is One of America’s Least Fiscally Stable States

Earlier this month, an optimistic Newsom claimed while presenting his latest proposed budget that it ‘reflect(ed) both confidence and caution,’ but if the state’s past performances are anything to go by, then Californians should be wary. The National Association of State Budget Officers’ (NASBO) latest Fiscal Survey of States shows ...
California

California needs budget restraint not double-digit spending increases

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a nearly 9% increase in total state spending for the upcoming fiscal year – that’s a $350 billion budget, more than $8,800 per Californian. Yet, for unions and progressive politicians, this enormous sum is too austere. They are calling on the state to backfill federal ...
Blog

Newsom’s ‘Sunny California Tale’ Masks Nightmare of Thousands Leaving the State

That splashy headline was based on the U-Haul company’s growth index, which each year “ranks states by their net gain (or loss) of customers who rented a one-way truck, trailer or U-Box® moving containers in one state and dropped off their equipment in another state.” Despite its world-renowned natural beauty, its reputation as ...
Blog

Newsom’s Proposed Ed Budget: Big Spending, Little Results

Under Newsom’s proposed budget, state and local education funding under Proposition 98 would come to $121.4 billion.  If one combines funding from all sources, including federal dollars, then the budget would include $149.1 billion in total funding for all TK (transitional kindergarten)-12 education programs. These huge budget amounts translate into ...
California

PRI All Stars Analyze Governor Newsom’s 2026-27 Budget Plan

This week, PRI’s team of policy experts – Wayne Winegarden, Steve Smith, and Lance Izumi – join Tim to analyze Gov. Newsom’s budget priorities and explore whether his final state budget plan is sustainable or if it sets the state on a perilous fiscal course.  They also discuss whether Newsom ...
California

Checking the fine print on Newsom’s “donor state” boast

California brags about its donor state status, that is, it forwards more in tax dollars to Washington than it gets back in federal spending. But that’s changed. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, California’s balance of payments with the federal government – the net difference between federal revenue collected ...
California

California Looking For ‘Foreign’ Aid

If there were a list of faltering, ineffective and counterproductive programs and projects that California policymakers are bitterly clinging to, the “bullet train” would be at the top. Voters asked for an ambitious high-speed rail that never leaves the state, but California cannot get the job done alone. The rest ...
California

California’s weak job market is a cry for help. Is anyone listening?

California’s job market continues to suffer from largely self-inflicted wounds, despite the fact that the overall economy is growing. In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom projected that California’s economy had grown larger than Japan’s, making it the fourth largest in the world (if it were its own economy, which it’s not). ...
Blog

California’s flawed budgeting causes routine deficits

For years analysts have warned that California’s overreliance on a roller-coaster stock market destabilizes California’s budget. During bull markets, revenues surge and Sacramento politicians commit to an unaffordable level of spending that only becomes evident when revenues inevitably crash. Rather than admitting that the spending was never affordable, the political ...
Blog

Learn about the latest Newsom plan on homelessness

Fixing Years Of Missteps On Homelessness

“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,” Newson said announcing the model ordinance. The plan would make it unlawful to set up camps “for the purpose of sleeping, lying, or sheltering one or more persons for more than three consecutive days or nights in the same location.” ...
Blog

Despite Newsom’s Claims, California is One of America’s Least Fiscally Stable States

Earlier this month, an optimistic Newsom claimed while presenting his latest proposed budget that it ‘reflect(ed) both confidence and caution,’ but if the state’s past performances are anything to go by, then Californians should be wary. The National Association of State Budget Officers’ (NASBO) latest Fiscal Survey of States shows ...
California

California needs budget restraint not double-digit spending increases

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a nearly 9% increase in total state spending for the upcoming fiscal year – that’s a $350 billion budget, more than $8,800 per Californian. Yet, for unions and progressive politicians, this enormous sum is too austere. They are calling on the state to backfill federal ...
Blog

Newsom’s ‘Sunny California Tale’ Masks Nightmare of Thousands Leaving the State

That splashy headline was based on the U-Haul company’s growth index, which each year “ranks states by their net gain (or loss) of customers who rented a one-way truck, trailer or U-Box® moving containers in one state and dropped off their equipment in another state.” Despite its world-renowned natural beauty, its reputation as ...
Blog

Newsom’s Proposed Ed Budget: Big Spending, Little Results

Under Newsom’s proposed budget, state and local education funding under Proposition 98 would come to $121.4 billion.  If one combines funding from all sources, including federal dollars, then the budget would include $149.1 billion in total funding for all TK (transitional kindergarten)-12 education programs. These huge budget amounts translate into ...
California

PRI All Stars Analyze Governor Newsom’s 2026-27 Budget Plan

This week, PRI’s team of policy experts – Wayne Winegarden, Steve Smith, and Lance Izumi – join Tim to analyze Gov. Newsom’s budget priorities and explore whether his final state budget plan is sustainable or if it sets the state on a perilous fiscal course.  They also discuss whether Newsom ...
California

Checking the fine print on Newsom’s “donor state” boast

California brags about its donor state status, that is, it forwards more in tax dollars to Washington than it gets back in federal spending. But that’s changed. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, California’s balance of payments with the federal government – the net difference between federal revenue collected ...
California

California Looking For ‘Foreign’ Aid

If there were a list of faltering, ineffective and counterproductive programs and projects that California policymakers are bitterly clinging to, the “bullet train” would be at the top. Voters asked for an ambitious high-speed rail that never leaves the state, but California cannot get the job done alone. The rest ...
California

California’s weak job market is a cry for help. Is anyone listening?

California’s job market continues to suffer from largely self-inflicted wounds, despite the fact that the overall economy is growing. In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom projected that California’s economy had grown larger than Japan’s, making it the fourth largest in the world (if it were its own economy, which it’s not). ...
Blog

California’s flawed budgeting causes routine deficits

For years analysts have warned that California’s overreliance on a roller-coaster stock market destabilizes California’s budget. During bull markets, revenues surge and Sacramento politicians commit to an unaffordable level of spending that only becomes evident when revenues inevitably crash. Rather than admitting that the spending was never affordable, the political ...
Blog

Learn about the latest Newsom plan on homelessness

Fixing Years Of Missteps On Homelessness

“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,” Newson said announcing the model ordinance. The plan would make it unlawful to set up camps “for the purpose of sleeping, lying, or sheltering one or more persons for more than three consecutive days or nights in the same location.” ...
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