“All Newsom’s galivanting around the country … will be for naught if he fails to get a grip on the fiscal crisis at home.”
In a Saturday editorial, the Mercury News and East Bay Times blasted Gov. Newsom’s handling of the state budget and boosted Assembly Republicans’ calls for a special session to bring spending back into line.
The editorial blows up Newsom’s claim that “We’ve prepared for this,” noting “The numbers tell a different story. If Newsom knew this shortfall was coming, why did he allow it to balloon to such enormous proportions? Since Newsom took office in 2019, state spending per California resident has increased a whopping 56%.”
Assembly Republicans have demanded a special session to fix the budget fiasco from earlier this year and put the state on a sustainable path going forward. The editorial agreed, arguing “The Assembly Republicans are right. Newsom cannot afford to wait through the upcoming half-year of haggling over the 2024-25 budget … As in any household that finds itself going into debt, the longer it takes to balance revenue with spending, the bigger the shortfall that will have to be made up later.”
Newsom’s direction to hold off on buying more Post-It notes and to stop non-essential travel (why is the state paying for non-essential travel, anyway?) is a day late and $68 billion short.
Californians deserve real solutions to California’s broken budget. As Democrats pretend that everything is fine, the cuts they will have to make are only getting bigger.
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