California

California’s Budget Deficit Is Not the Problem | Connecting California

Published

1 year ago

May 28, 2024

California’s Budget Deficit Is Not the Problem | Connecting California

California’s constitution is full of guarantees and formulas that ratchet up spending on favored programs, writes columnist Joe Mathews, even when revenues drop and the budget is out of balance. California Governor Gavin Newsom during a news conference on May 10, 2024. Courtesy of AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli.

by Joe Mathews |
May 28, 2024

You can tune out Gov. Newsom when he talks about the state’s big budget deficit. Ignore the pleas of Democrats who control the legislature, too. And turn the volume down when Sacramento lobbies complain about the proposed cuts.

California’s ballooning budget deficits, and the cuts to services they cause, are not a crisis. They are not really news. They are, sadly, normal and predictable.

And they are grounded not in budgeting mistakes—lapses of discipline in collecting revenue or controlling spending—but in our state constitution and in a reality so paradoxical it would make Kafka blush:

Our constitution requires the state to balance its budget. But balancing the state budget requires violating the state constitution.

How’s that? Because on fiscal matters, our constitution is effectively a ratchet. The document is full of guarantees and formulas, approved by voters, that ratchet up spending on favored programs, even when revenues drop and the state budget is out of balance.

Meanwhile, the constitution also has plenty of voter-approved limits on taxes and fees. These limits ratchet down revenues in slower economic times and make it harder for the state and local governments to raise revenues to cover budget increases.

Californians may have forgotten about the ratchet. The past decade was an unusual one for the state budget, as stock market growth and federal pandemic relief sent government revenues soaring and created surpluses.

But with those revenue sources gone or declining, California’s Kafkaesque constitution is reasserting itself and producing deficits projected recently to range anywhere from $27 billion to $70 billion.

That leaves Gov. Newsom stuck and left to do with the budget what all California governors must:

Violate the constitution.

First, he’s not offering a balanced budget. The spending delays, draw-downs on reserves, and cuts he’s proposing to state operations eliminate only about half of the deficit.

Second, to close the gap, he’s violating the state’s education funding guarantee, a voter-approved formula called Prop 98.

Our constitution requires the state to balance its budget. But balancing the state budget requires violating the state constitution.

Prop 98 is, famously, so complicated that no one really understands it. (It involves three complex formulas to determine state funding, and it’s never clear really clear which formula will apply in which year.) The main effect of Prop 98 is to keep pushing education spending up; it’s one of the biggest spending ratchets in our constitutional budget ratchet.

Newsom’s maneuver is a sneaky ploy to reduce Prop 98’s ratchet effect by changing the inputs to the formula. Newsom’s budget proposes to travel back in time and reclassify certain moneys spent on education in previous years as non-education spending.

This maneuver is intended to lower the funding base underneath the formulas—helping him “balance the budget” while allowing the ratchet to do its work.

The problem (besides the inherent ridiculousness of having to bend the law in this manner) is that the lower funding base would mean tens of billions less in school funding in future years.

Yes, my fellow Californians, “screw the kids” remains the real, if unofficial, state motto.

The powerful education lobby is crying foul, as are some Democrats and local governments. Newsom defends himself by saying he’s required to balance the budget.

The problem with this blame game—and demands that Newsom reverse the cuts—is that it defines the discussion as being about the budget. The real problem is California’s broken constitution.

Finding tens of billions of dollars in cuts for anything is hard. Health programs have all kinds of court-ordered, statutory, and, in some cases, constitutional protections. Cuts to prisons and state agencies require concessions from politically powerful labor unions. Tax increases run up against Prop 13 and other state revenue limits.

That doesn’t mean I’m trying to let Newsom, the Democratic supermajority in the legislature, and other powerful Sacramento interests off the hook for the state’s budget problems. It’s the exact opposite. The governor, Democrats, and interest groups are responsible for the budget mess—because they’ve had plenty of time to fix the constitution, and haven’t even tried.

Gavin Newsom has been in statewide office since 2011. California Democrats have had full control of Sacramento since that same year. And powerful unions and other lobbies have held sway for far longer than that.

All of these politicians and lobbies know very well that the California constitution is broken. They have long had the power to come together and give the state the new constitution it needs—without all the fiscal ratchets that drive up spending and limit revenues.

But they haven’t been willing to lead and change the system. They have focused instead on building their own power within this broken system. Jerry Brown and other California leaders have spent the past decades dismissing calls for a constitutional rewrite (including my own, via the book California Crackup) as unrealistic.

But state leaders are the ones who have lost touch with reality. They claim they can fix the budget, but they can’t because the constitution won’t let them. And they won’t fix the constitution because they say it’s politically impossible. How long can they keep saying this—and keep pretending they are doing their jobs?

When the governor and legislators say they are trying to solve the problem, they aren’t telling the truth. This miserable budget, full of cuts to education, is a product of the budget system, and the constitution, that they themselves have chosen.

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California

Utah woman missing for nearly a week from central California

Published

10 hours ago

November 13, 2025

Press Room

Utah woman missing for nearly a week from central California

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah woman has been reported missing for nearly a week from a county in central California.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said Danielle Staley, 35, of Holladay, was last seen near Rio Del Mar State Beach last Thursday night, Nov. 6.

She stands about 5-foot-6, with blond hair, and was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and leopard-print leggings, police said.

According to Zach West, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, Staley had been traveling with a friend for over a month — the pair arrived in the Santa Cruz area, near Aptos Beach in Rio Del Mar about a week ago.

On the night of Nov. 6, about 11:30 p.m., Staley and her friend had met some people at the beach and had a bonfire; the friend somehow separated from the group, and Staley couldn’t be found the next day, though her belongings were still on the beach, West said.

The woman hasn’t had contact with her family or friends, which West said was “out of character for her.”

Detectives are trying to piece together and identify others who were at the beach; they are also working with local businesses to scour surveillance footage that may present some clues, according to West.

He said numerous people have called claiming to have seen Staley, and detectives intend to follow up on those tips.

As of now, police said they don’t have any indication that she has traveled outside of the county, so the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office is the only agency investigating right now.

Staley’s friend is said to be cooperating with police.

Those with information are asked to call the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office at 831-471-1121.

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California

Thousands advised to stay indoors in California, Oregon, Arizona

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2025

Press Room

Thousands advised to stay indoors in California, Oregon, Arizona

Parts of three states face potentially unhealthy levels of air pollution early Wednesday, a live map from AirNow shows.

The map shows multiple pockets of fine particle (PM2.5) pollution in the “unhealthy” category. In Arizona, the pocket is centered around Payson, while another area is located along the border between California and Oregon, encompassing parts of Red Rock Valley, Butte Valley, Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Langell Valley, Spring Lake Valley, and areas around Klamath Falls.

At these air-quality levels, the Environmental Protection Agency advises that sensitive groups avoid long or intense outdoor activities and consider moving or rescheduling them indoors. The EPA also recommends the remainder of the population to reduce long or intense activities, and to take more breaks during outdoor activities.

Why It Matters

Officials and experts say that deteriorating air quality heightens health risks for vulnerable populations, such as older adults, children and individuals with respiratory illnesses.

What To Know

AirNow—an air quality data resource—is a partnership between the EPA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other agencies.

The Air Quality Index measures air pollution on a scale from 0 to 301 and above:

0—50 (Green): Good—Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
51—100 (Yellow): Moderate—Air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
101—150 (Orange): Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups—Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected.
151—200 (Red): Unhealthy—Some members of the general public may experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
201—300 (Purple): Very Unhealthy—Health alert. The risk of health effects is increased for everyone.
301 and higher (Maroon): Hazardous—Health warning of emergency conditions. Everyone is more likely to be affected.

What People Are Saying

The EPA says on its website: “The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. Small particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter pose the greatest problems, because they can get deep into your lungs, and some may even get into your bloodstream.

“Exposure to such particles can affect both your lungs and your heart. Numerous scientific studies have linked particle pollution exposure to a variety of problems, including:

premature death in people with heart or lung disease
nonfatal heart attacks
irregular heartbeat
aggravated asthma
decreased lung function
increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing.

“People with heart or lung diseases, children, older adults, minority populations, and low socioeconomic status populations are the most likely to be affected by particle pollution exposure, either because they are more sensitive or may have higher exposures.”

What Happens Next

AirNow’s map is regularly updated.

Update, 11/12/2025, 5:01 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

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California

California Upsets No. 14 Louisville Cardinals in Overtime Thriller

Published

4 days ago

November 9, 2025

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California Upsets No. 14 Louisville Cardinals in Overtime Thriller

California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for a career-high 323 passing yards against the No. 14 Louisville Cardinals on Nov. 8, 2025. (Courtesy: Cal Athletics)

California traveled to Louisville, Ky., in search of a statement win against the No. 14 Louisville Cardinals (7-2, 4-2 ACC), and the Golden Bears (6-4, 3-3 ACC) pulled out all the stops Saturday evening to earn the upset, 29-26, in overtime.