State Budget

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Read latest from PRI's Free Cities Center

Well-run California cities grow, while badly run ones shrink

I’ve come up with a unique way to measure how well California cities are doing. It shows those with well-run finances grow in population, while those badly run shrink. It’s a generality. There are exceptions. But look at the trend line on this chart. Notice the trend line, the dotted ...
Blog

Newsom public safety budget shortchanges crime victims

For California’s Crime Victims – Budget Dust

Despite his protestations to the opposite in the recent debate with Governor DeSantis,  California’s violent crimes are up 6.1 percent and property crimes are up 6.2 percent over their 2021 levels, making California a crime outlier compared to national crime statistics which have dropped. The Governor’s “Real Public Safety Plan” ...
Blog

Take a deep dive on Gov. Newsom's education budget

Newsom’s Proposed Education Budget: A Recipe for More Disaster

With all the blaring headlines about California’s huge state budget deficit, one would think that education spending, which accounts for around 45 percent of the budget, would take a significant hit.  Well, think again. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, which was the last pre-pandemic budget, state General Fund spending for ...
California

The PRI All Stars Respond to Gov. Newsom’s 2024-25 Budget Plan

Listen as PRI’s All Stars – Wayne Winegarden, Lance Izumi, Sally Pipes, and Steve Smith – respond to Gov. Newsom’s much-anticipated 2024-25 state budget plan. They discuss Gov. Newsom’s much lower state budget projection and spending priorities, the budget’s impact on K-12 education, whether the Governor will suspend the controversial ...
Business & Economics

Wayne Winegarden calls Newsom’s budget proposal a “bunch of budget gimmicks” in The Center Square

California proposes mere $8.5 billion spending cut against $68 billion deficit By Kenneth Schrupp “[The governor’s plan] seems to be a combination of some spending cuts and a bunch of budget gimmicks,” said Pacific Research Institute Senior Fellow for Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden in an interview with The Center ...
Business & Economics

Read an analysis of the 2024-25 CA proposed budget

Gov. Newsom’s proposed budget fails the moment

Governor Gavin Newsom is wrong. His proposed budget is not “resilient;” it demonstrates an inability to learn the lessons from California’s volatile budget history. The crippling deficit is merely one manifestation of the broader crisis. Newsom estimates a $37.9 billion deficit, about one-half of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office’s (LAO) ...
Blog

Learn about an important state budget priority

Public Employee Pay Savings Must Be Part of Budget Solution

California’s record $68 billion deficit for the 2024 fiscal year is a national newsmaker. State government isn’t the only administrative body facing a budget shortfall, though. A number of cities are also finding they have insufficient funds. Officials are busy trying out plans to resolve their financial troubles, but balancing ...
Blog

Get a state budget preview

Three things to watch in Governor’s budget rollout

On Wednesday, Gov. Newsom will unveil his much-anticipated 2024-25 state spending plan, officially kicking off the budget debate at the State Capitol. While the state is facing a $68 billion shortfall according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office, Newsom said in a December TV interview that, “we have different numbers ...
Blog

Read about California's $68 billion budget crisis

State Budget Update: The Calm Before the Budget Storm

Christmastime is always the busiest time of the year at the Department of Finance. With the state budget due to be released on January 10, department leadership is making the final decisions about spending priorities with the governor. However, recent bad news about the state of California’s finances means that ...
Blog

Get latest state budget update

State Budget Update: Bigger State Budget Deficit on the Horizon?

That’s the fear, as the Sacramento Bee this week reported, in recent filings by state officials in anticipation of a November bond offering. Given that the IRS extended the deadline to file income taxes twice this year due to natural disasters (first to October 16, then again to Nov. 16), ...
Blog

Read latest from PRI's Free Cities Center

Well-run California cities grow, while badly run ones shrink

I’ve come up with a unique way to measure how well California cities are doing. It shows those with well-run finances grow in population, while those badly run shrink. It’s a generality. There are exceptions. But look at the trend line on this chart. Notice the trend line, the dotted ...
Blog

Newsom public safety budget shortchanges crime victims

For California’s Crime Victims – Budget Dust

Despite his protestations to the opposite in the recent debate with Governor DeSantis,  California’s violent crimes are up 6.1 percent and property crimes are up 6.2 percent over their 2021 levels, making California a crime outlier compared to national crime statistics which have dropped. The Governor’s “Real Public Safety Plan” ...
Blog

Take a deep dive on Gov. Newsom's education budget

Newsom’s Proposed Education Budget: A Recipe for More Disaster

With all the blaring headlines about California’s huge state budget deficit, one would think that education spending, which accounts for around 45 percent of the budget, would take a significant hit.  Well, think again. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, which was the last pre-pandemic budget, state General Fund spending for ...
California

The PRI All Stars Respond to Gov. Newsom’s 2024-25 Budget Plan

Listen as PRI’s All Stars – Wayne Winegarden, Lance Izumi, Sally Pipes, and Steve Smith – respond to Gov. Newsom’s much-anticipated 2024-25 state budget plan. They discuss Gov. Newsom’s much lower state budget projection and spending priorities, the budget’s impact on K-12 education, whether the Governor will suspend the controversial ...
Business & Economics

Wayne Winegarden calls Newsom’s budget proposal a “bunch of budget gimmicks” in The Center Square

California proposes mere $8.5 billion spending cut against $68 billion deficit By Kenneth Schrupp “[The governor’s plan] seems to be a combination of some spending cuts and a bunch of budget gimmicks,” said Pacific Research Institute Senior Fellow for Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden in an interview with The Center ...
Business & Economics

Read an analysis of the 2024-25 CA proposed budget

Gov. Newsom’s proposed budget fails the moment

Governor Gavin Newsom is wrong. His proposed budget is not “resilient;” it demonstrates an inability to learn the lessons from California’s volatile budget history. The crippling deficit is merely one manifestation of the broader crisis. Newsom estimates a $37.9 billion deficit, about one-half of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office’s (LAO) ...
Blog

Learn about an important state budget priority

Public Employee Pay Savings Must Be Part of Budget Solution

California’s record $68 billion deficit for the 2024 fiscal year is a national newsmaker. State government isn’t the only administrative body facing a budget shortfall, though. A number of cities are also finding they have insufficient funds. Officials are busy trying out plans to resolve their financial troubles, but balancing ...
Blog

Get a state budget preview

Three things to watch in Governor’s budget rollout

On Wednesday, Gov. Newsom will unveil his much-anticipated 2024-25 state spending plan, officially kicking off the budget debate at the State Capitol. While the state is facing a $68 billion shortfall according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office, Newsom said in a December TV interview that, “we have different numbers ...
Blog

Read about California's $68 billion budget crisis

State Budget Update: The Calm Before the Budget Storm

Christmastime is always the busiest time of the year at the Department of Finance. With the state budget due to be released on January 10, department leadership is making the final decisions about spending priorities with the governor. However, recent bad news about the state of California’s finances means that ...
Blog

Get latest state budget update

State Budget Update: Bigger State Budget Deficit on the Horizon?

That’s the fear, as the Sacramento Bee this week reported, in recent filings by state officials in anticipation of a November bond offering. Given that the IRS extended the deadline to file income taxes twice this year due to natural disasters (first to October 16, then again to Nov. 16), ...
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