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Gavin Newsom’s final budget: California’s fiscal house of cards

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This week, Democratic legislators approved a 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% increase (40%, after inflation).

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% 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.

The state spent tens of billions of dollars addressing homelessness, yet California still has the nation’s largest homeless population. Medi-Cal spending climbed to record levels and has become one of the major drivers of the state’s budget pressure. Education spending continued rising even as enrollment declined in many districts throughout the state.

This is not complicated. Sacramento demanded more money, spent more money, and promised better results. Yet the core failures remain:........

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