“No amount of Enron-style accounting gimmicks will change the alarming reality that Gavin Newsom has created a fiscal crisis – and he is forcing Californians to pay the price in the form of higher taxes, fewer services, and more debt.” – CA State Representative Carl DeMaio
This morning California Governor Gavin Newsom will hold a press conference to preview his proposed state budget for the coming fiscal year – with a full proposal due by this Friday. Newly-elected Assemblymember Carl DeMaio spent 30 years as a national government budget expert – and in 2003 produced the California Citizens Budget Project that exposed the financial crisis of then-Gov. Gray Davis. DeMaio is available to critique Newsom’s budget proposal and offers the following preview of his concerns:
“Gavin Newsom is in over his head and hopes that no one notices – but no amount of Enron-style accounting will change the alarming reality that Gavin Newsom has created a fiscal crisis. With yet another dishonest and irresponsible budget plan, Newsom wants to force Californians to pay the price in the form of higher taxes, fewer services, and more debt. I’m calling on my colleagues to declare the Governor’s budget ‘dead on arrival’ and commit to passing a better plan – one that balances the budget without tax hikes and preserves the core services that Californians rely on the most.”
KEY BUDGET PROBLEMS RAISED BY DEMAIO:
- EXPLOSIVE SPENDING: According to the Department of Finance, the state budget has jumped from $126 billion in 2011-12 to over $298 billion in 2024-25 resulting in an overall budget increase of 137% ($172 billion) in just 12 years, which is an average increase of 10.5% every year; Per capita spending from 2011 to 2024, has more than doubled from $3,353 to $8,363.
- WASTEFUL SPENDING: Newsom is proposing to cut services to citizens but refuses to cut billions in wasteful spending and continues to fund billions in taxpayer-funded handouts to illegal immigrants.
- HIGHER TAXES: Newsom’s budget is filled with tax and fee increases that will exacerbate California’s cost-of-living crisis.
- ACCOUNTING GIMMICKS: Gavin Newsom is relying on fund transfers, dubious accounting shifts, raids on reserves, and intentionally underfunding government pension obligations.
DeMaio has already begun work on an alternative budget plan for the state – and on December 2, 2024 introduced the “Balanced Budget Accountability Act” to implement cost-saving reforms in the state budget to protect services while eliminating the need for tax hikes.
DeMaio is available by phone or zoom for interviews – or in-person at the State Capitol.
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