Newsom’s Money Troubles

Last week, California’s Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) released the 2024-2025 Fiscal Outlook. 

I’ll sum it up for you: It's bad.  

California faces a $68 billion deficit. And in the meantime, California companies and families are choosing to leave the state and its broken policies behind. 

The way out of the financial hole is bleak — especially knowing who really pulls the strings in Sacramento. Two of the LAO’s prescriptions to rein in the state’s spending spree include cutting spending on education and dipping into our fiscal reserves. Neither option will cut it alone.

California’s leaders will have to do both to begin working their way out of the deficit. 

They’ll be inevitably met with the biggest obstacle to good governance in California: the teachers’ unions.

Under Proposition 98, these unions have a perverse incentive to advocate for an inflated state budget because K-12 education is guaranteed to receive at least 40 percent of the state’s general fund each year.

That wrestling match isn’t the only cause for concern as taxes increase and the state borrows federal funds to pay down its debts. The slippery slope of the Golden State’s financial health is getting a whole lot steeper. 

The Orange County Register, citing the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, writes that starting in 2024, Californians “making between $61,214 and $312,686 would pay 10.4% up from the current 9.3%.”

These cycles of financial decay “fixed” by the legislature’s spending of borrowed money are the reason Californians of all ages are leaving the state for greener pastures in other states. 

And it needs to be stopped. 

If you're like me — you’ve watched your friends, family and loved ones pack their bags and leave California for good because of rising crime, skyrocketing home prices, and failing schools.

Year after year of destructive policies and a lack of accountability creates an ecosystem where the best option is to invest elsewhere. 

That’s why the California Policy Center fights every day to advance common sense policies, stop bad legislation and change the hearts and minds of Californians across the state.

Our team works to educate elected officials from the school boards to the statehouse about the corruption of government unions. We wage aggressive media campaigns, train local elected officials and candidates at the grassroots level, and help thousands of public employees opt out of their unions. 

Will you join us?

Your support helps CPC stand up for California’s future in Sacramento and across the state’s 58 counties. You help train liberty-loving Californians to run for office and grassroots advocates how to mobilize effectively. You support groundbreaking research and investigative journalism on issues ignored by California’s legacy media.

As the year comes to a close, you can partner with CPC in our work to resuscitate the California Dream.

Thank you,
 
Jackson Reese
Vice President of Development
California Policy Center