BudgetK-12 Education

Mr. Newsom Postpones State of The State Address

Governor Newsom postponed the annual State of the State address scheduled for today, apparently (according to Politico) until the final results of Proposition 1 are known.

David Crane

Budget

Sacred Cows and Sacrificial Lambs In Sacramento

State taxpayers got more bad news this week when the State Senate released its proposed early action plan for addressing California’s budget shortfall in which we can find nothing of substance that differs from Governor Newsom’s plan.

David Crane

BudgetUpdates

The San Francisco Standard: Newsom’s national ambitions backed by special interest money

Why have corporations, unions and associations put up more than $10 million that Gov. Gavin Newsom is using for state and national advertisements featuring him? The answer is that Newsom has delivered billions of state dollars to them.

David Crane

Updates

All Eyes On San Francisco

While there wasn’t much on the statewide ballot yesterday, there was plenty on the San Francisco ballot and the results look to be a resounding endorsement of that city’s vibrant ecosystem of political philanthropies.

David Crane

Budget

SF Chronicle: Reading between the lines of Newsom’s ‘deferred’ budget: Screw the kids

Shohei Ohtani is the only major league baseball player who can hit and pitch at an elite level.

Perhaps he should manage California’s state budget, too.

Govern For California

Budget

Mr. Newsom Makes My Case

The Newsom Administration is circulating a rebuttal to my criticism of the Governor’s Proposed 2024-25 Budget. As a reminder, that criticism is that Mr. Newsom proposes to draw on the Rainy Day Fund even though the country is not in a recession and doing so would seriously impair the state’s ability to preserve public services in a recession.

David Crane

K-12 EducationPrison Spending

Some Questions For Your Leaders

It’s election season. Citizens looking for questions to ask of candidates or state officials might consider the following two.

David Crane

Budget

The Kounalakis Tax Increase

Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and every other candidate for governor in 2026 should be paying very close attention to the Multiyear Forecast in Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget.

David Crane

Budget

Has Mr. Newsom Resurrected A Gimmick?

Next week my students will start reading through Governor Newsom’s proposed state budget for the next fiscal year, which was released today. Before they do, I’ll be sending them a 2019 column from the LA Times entitled, “The one-day, $1-billion California budget gimmick that has lasted for almost a decade,” which is about a budgetary maneuver employed in 2009.

David Crane

Budget

Mr. Newsom’s LBJ Moment

Last month, I wrote about the unique opportunity Governor Newsom has with his next budget to “reinvent government” as he called for in his 2014 book, Citizenville. Next week we will learn if he plans to do so.

David Crane

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California

Mission

To counter special interest influence and to support like-minded organizations.