Newsom’s Final Budget: California’s Fiscal House Of Cards
After increasing total state spending by roughly 70 percent in seven years, Sacramento has built an ever-larger government on one of the most volatile tax structures in America.
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🕒 5 minute read
The Spending Explosion
Today, Democratic legislators are expected to vote on a final state budget — Gavin Newsom’s last as Governor.
When Newsom took office in 2019, California’s budget totaled approximately $209 billion. The budget he and the Legislature are now sending to his desk comes in at roughly $356 billion. In seven years, total state spending has increased by nearly $147 billion — a staggering 70 percent increase.
That is not merely a budget increase. It is a governing philosophy expressed in dollars.
California’s population did not grow by anything close to 70 percent during those years. Inflation did not come close to that either. State government grew because the political conditions existed to make it grow.
When a liberal governor sits down with liberal supermajorities in both the State Senate and State Assembly, the result is not difficult to predict. More programs become permanent. Temporary spending becomes ongoing spending. Every surplus becomes an excuse to expand government rather than prepare for the downturn that eventually follows every economic expansion.
Where Did The Money Go?
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It isn’t very much money for a whole lot of return.
Below the paywall, paid subscribers can continue reading about:
Why the 70 percent spending increase is only the beginning of the story.
What Sacramento promised — and what Californians actually got.
The hidden danger inside California’s tax structure.
Why budget writers may be counting on money that may not be there next time.
The contradiction Sacramento does not want to confront.
Why the billionaire tax debate matters even before anything passes.
The larger question this budget raises about government, liberty, and responsibility.
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