Journalist Calls Out Gavin Newsom

      Ah, California: Land of Golden Dreams. Now, the reef of Broken Dreams, hulls shattered by budget busts and rivers of red ink. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the local boy made good, has appeared all over the country in the run-up to the recent presidential election. Now that contest is over and the dems are licking their collective wounds as the Trump trifecta ascends, again, to the White House. 

       Dan Walters has been writing on government dealings and goings on for over 60 years. He and his staff keep the feet of the legislature to the fire, which it needs.  With a super majority in the Legislature, the Dems have run wild around Sacramento, passing this giveaway and that giveaway, plumping up the liberal agenda, reveling in their own largesse. But Mr. Walters knows how things work or don't work in California.  While the Dems preach about the "Big Tent" and the "All Inclusive Party",  Mr. Walters follows the money, which in California goes to "Big Farming", "Big Tech", "Big Utility", and "Big Government".

       In 2022, as Covid-19 pandemic effects retreated, Newsom declared that the state had a huge surplus of tax dollars in excess of $200 billion dollars. And it would continue  ad infinitum. This camer from his Dept. of Finance which counted recently received receipts from taxpayers, many of whom sold stock at high price evaluations. Then, bad news arrived. Newsom had his budgeteers write new spending i\above $300 billion in 2022-23. These funds would go to the darlings of the Blue Coasties: health and welfare and cash payments to poor families. Now, 2 years later, the budget states that projections were woefully wrong and projections will be well under the $200 billion projections to the tune of $165 billions over the next 4 years. Hmmmmmmm. What does this mean, really, to you and me? BELT Tightening. 

     The Legislature's own budget analyst, Gabe Petek, released the 2024-25 projections and show that spending will out pace income. The State's economy is sluggish and outside of government and healthcare, no new jobs have been added. Businesses like Wells Fargo, are walking away from California to New York and North Carolina(of all places).  Nobody likes paying more and more taxes for less and less. But California's Dems don't seem to be bothered by the exodus of taxpayers.

     Newsom's legacy will still be here in 2027 when he departs for his new $9 million dollar home in Marin County, Ca . Taxpayers will be stuck with the remains. Thanks for the reportage, Mr. Walters.