(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Newsom Seeks to Close $37.9 Billion Deficit by Cutting Spending and Using Reserves [1]
['Shawn Hubler']
Date: 2024-01-10
The Numbers
Mr. Newsom said his finance department, working with updated revenue figures, had determined that lawmakers would have to offset a deficit of $37.9 billion for the fiscal year that starts on July 1, which is substantially lower than the $68 billion deficit that the state’s nonpartisan budget analyst had projected.
To accomplish that, the governor proposed covering nearly $19 billion of the gap with reserves, trimming nearly $12 billion from planned spending and delaying a little more than $7 billion in spending commitments into the next fiscal year.
Why It Matters
California has the nation’s largest population, with 39 million residents, and its budget decisions affect almost every aspect of life in the state, including public schools, highways and the social safety net.
The state’s Democratic leaders are regularly judged by their spending choices, not just by voters in California, and Mr. Newsom has positioned himself ahead of the 2024 presidential election as a defender of Democratic values.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/10/us/california-budget-newsom.html
Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/
