From $100 Million Surplus to ‘Budget Emergency’

“Two years ago, California was so flush that Gov. Gavin Newsom was moved to make a bold declaration about the state’s estimated $100 billion budget surplus,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Newsom: “Simply without precedent. No other state in American history has ever experienced a surplus as large as this.”

“In those heady days, the state’s record-setting surfeit of cash seemed like a resounding endorsement of the California way, bolstering Newsom’s rising national profile and presidential bona fides.”

“But fast-forward to 2024 and the situation has swung wildly in the opposite direction: The state — still the wealthiest and most populous in the nation — is facing a nearly $50 billion budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year, testing its commitment to the increasingly liberal agenda advanced in recent years.”